The Echo of Mirrored Silence
by My writing is this
Summary: In a world where death no longer meant what it used to, everyone had to find a way to survive. Survive in a world that was nothing like before. Caroline was no different. Things had changed. She had changed. This were lost and things were found. Survival. That's what mattered, and the journey would be unforgettable. Love, Life, and Walkers. A fight to the end.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Walking Dead.**

**A/N: Newest story! Hope you enjoy!**

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_**Prologue**_

Sitting in the middle of the living room I tried to control my shaking. I knew what was going on. I knew what to expect. What to do if the time came. But after everything that had happened, after everything that I'd seen and done, I still wasn't ready for when the moment came. The moment where death wasn't the end. Where you watched the people you care about turn into walking cannibals. When everything you ever knew was ripped out from underneath you, never to return to the way it was.

"Are you okay?" Conner, a man of thirty with a strong build and gentle eyes, asked me.

"What do you think?" I shot at him.

"I'm sorry." He said squatting in front of me. His hazel eyes looked at me with such tenderness it almost felt I was imposing him. His brown hair was starting to get long, nearly touching his ears. A long way from the buzz cut he usually wore. His sharp features made him look strong, even though he wasn't always. "I'm so sorry." He said again. I just shook my head at him. "But you would have died if I hadn't gotten you out of there."

"It doesn't matter anymore." I whispered.

"I'm still sorry." He said quietly.

Nodding again, I looked at the Borzoi sitting next to me before standing, walking into the nearest bedroom, closing the door behind the two of us. Crawling onto the bed I started to silently sob into a pillow, unable to hold them in. Pulling Echo against me, she licked my arm, resting her head on the pillow next to mine. I ended up crying myself to sleep, a sleep that was more of my body's way of dealing then anything else.

Waking to a subtle knocking on the door, I sat up, looking at my dog as she did the same. "Caroline?" Conner's voice asked softly through the door.

"Be right out." I forced the words out of my raw throat.

Running my fingers through my hair, I gave my eyes a quick rub with the palms of my hands before sliding off the end of the bed. Opening the door, it was Conner's concerned face that met me.

"Sorry, I fell asleep." I told him, looking at the floor.

He didn't say anything but pulled me into his arms. He hugged me tightly. Leading me back into the living room where Lex, Finn, Tym, and Rebecca had rejoined us. It looked like their bags were full. Our mission had been a success. We only lost one this time.

"Hey." I said looking at all of them. They all had those sad expressions on their faces. "I'm fine." I finally told them. "We should be heading back."

Echo looked up at me with perked ears before looking toward the door. Smiling, I stroked her head before shaking it at her. I knew she didn't fully understand. She thought he was coming back. There were others she thought were coming back and she'd been disappointed before. Being a dog, she got over it easily. She'd figure it out in a few days but right now she was the one who held all the hope inside of her. The rest of us were running low.

Conner was diligent as we got ready to move. There were only half a dozen walkers outside and the two trucks were only a few blocks away. Shouldering my bag, I followed closely behind him as we made our move. Avoiding the streets, we moved through the backyards of the string of houses. Echo stayed close by but her nose was ever moving as she checked to make sure the coast was clear. She was a credit to her breed, though she was smart and listened better then any other I had had, making her trustworthy and an asset to our group. I watched her like a hawk, knowing that she would give a sign if she thought anything was amiss or if anything was near. With her nose, ears, and eyes, she would be able to give us a good head start if there were any walkers that posed a serious threat. Jumping fences and hiding amongst trees, we made our way to the trucks and a sense of security. Once we got back I'd be able to finally take it all in and deal with what happened. Until then I would simply have to put on a brave face.

"How are you doing?" Conner asked when we were back in the trucks and on the road.

"I wish you'd stop asking me that." I told him as I stared out the window.

"I'm horrible so I can't imagine how you're really doing." He said with a semi-harsh tone.

Now I looked at him. I could see the pain written across his face. I'd only seen him cry a few times in the nearly twenty years I'd known him. But I could see the emotion he was trying to hold in; knew that he felt the same as I did. Reaching over, I took his hand and held it in both of mine.

"We'll be okay." I told him softly.

He scoffed, "We will?"

"We don't have a choice." I replied and squeezed his hand.


	2. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

A sense of relief filled me as the building came into view. The four story apartment building was just on the outskirts of the city. They had been built just a few years prior, geared toward college students. There was a separate recreational building with a pool and workout equipment. We had taught ourselves how to maintain the pool and it was still used on a daily basis. Can't get flabby when you need to run for your life every day. We lived on the top floor in the apartments closest to the roof access. Between the seven of us we occupied two of the apartments. Returning to the suburbs for supplies only when necessary, always leaving with as much as we can carry. So far our little setup was working quite well. The building was secured, making it unlikely that the walkers could get through not only the glass doors, but the thicker inner doors that led into the building. The same was true for the recreation building. The only risk was going from building to building. We were sitting pretty with guns and ammo, having raided the few police stations that weren't too deep into the city. We had lost three on that trip. Our group had been up to sixteen at the beginning and now we were down to less then half. Things were getting bad out there. Every time we left for supplies we risked losing another of us. It was becoming more frequent. Too frequent. The latest still too fresh to comprehend.

Unloading the trucks, we made our way into the building and up to our apartments. Distributing the food amongst the two homes. The biggest reward being the unopened large breed bag of dog food we had found. Echo went straight to her bed in the living room and collapsed on top of it. Even she understood the meaning of safety. Once everything was where it should be, Conner and I were left alone in our apartment, the others lived in the one across the hall.

"Hungry?" Conner asked me.

"No." I replied, leaning against the doorframe of the boys' room. Only now it was only Connor's room.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"Do you?" I retorted.

"Not really." He replied and sat on the couch. "I just don't know what to do."

"We've been through this before." I stated.

"Stop trying to be strong about this." He told me with an angry edge to his voice.

"I don't have a choice." I shot back at him. "What am I supposed to do, huh? What? Am I supposed to break down and become a weak little girl?"

"Most would." He said rubbing his head.

"Yeah, well, I can't afford to be weak." I told him, sitting next to him. "If you haven't noticed the world is coming to an end and the weak always end up dead…in more then one way."

"But this hurts." He said looking at me with glistening eyes. "So much more then all the others. Except for…" He said and trailed off.

"I know." I said, feeling my own eyes fill with tears, taking his hands in mine.

He nodded and took a deep breath. I nodded back and rested my head on his shoulder with a heavy sigh. There was nothing I could say to make this better. This did hurt more. We sat that way, silently crying with each other, for quite some time. He wanted to talk about it. I wanted to forget it. I couldn't handle it. Not yet. Finally releasing him, I stood up, leaning down and kissing the top of his head.

"I'm gonna go for a swim." I told him.

"Take Echo, will you?" He asked.

"Of course." I replied running my hand down the back of his head. "Come on, sweetie." I said to my dog before grabbing my keys and my gun.

The walk across the lot was uneventful. Walkers weren't around every day. Sometimes we would go a week or so without seeing one wandering around. Most of their food was in the city, they didn't need to come this far just yet. Echo's calmness was just a conformation of that. Making sure the doors were secure, I made a sweep of the building before going to the locker room. Changing into my suit, I stood at the deep end of the pool, staring at my reflection in the calm water. My long, thick auburn hair fell over my shoulder as I stared at myself. My green eyes taking in the difference from what I looked like before and what I looked like now. Thinner, more defeated looking then before. The water rippled as tears fell from my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my emotions as far down as I could, before diving into the water. Starting to swim laps, I attempted to release all the tension in my body, trying to feel better about anything that was going on. When my limbs were heavy, I moved to the small pit of rocks, lighting the coals underneath them. Waiting for the rocks to heat up, I looked over at my Echo. She was spread out on one of the lounge chairs, happily relaxing like only a dog can. When the rocks were red with heat, I tossed several into the hot tub, waiting for it to heat up a bit before adding more. When it was sufficiently warm, I slipped into the hot water, hoping to find a little bit of relaxation. It had only been a few minutes when I heard the door and immediately looked at Echo. She lifted her head before yawning and dropping it back down, telling me that it was one of our own.

"Hey." I smiled at Connor when he appeared a few minutes later.

"Hey." He said returning it as he slipping into the hot water next to me.

"How you holding up?" I asked.

"It was too quiet." He replied with a sad tone.

"Yeah, it's going to be quiet for quite a while now." I stated with a sigh, resting my head on his shoulder.

He put his arm around me, pulling me against his side. "Remember when he saved the group from the walkers on our first raid? He jumped into the center of that group, taking out a dozen before any of us could lend a hand." He said with a smile. I couldn't help but smile. "He was so cocky after that."

"He was always cocky." I said and looked up at him. "It was only a matter of time before it got him killed."

There was a long moment of silence before Conner started talking again, his tone grave. "You should know that we talking about what would happen if anything happen to him." Leaning away from him, I turned so I could look him in the eyes. "He loved you, Caroline. He loved you so much." I nodded at him, emotion making my throat clench. "He wanted to make sure you were okay."

"How am I supposed to be okay?" I asked as tears ran down my cheeks, a slight shiver moving through my body. Connor sighed and got out, adding a few more of the rocks to the tub. "He was reckless and stupid. He shouldn't have had to have a plan for what would happen if he wasn't here. He should have been more careful." I told him as he slipped back into the water.

"They got the jump on us, Caroline. You were running right into them. What did you expect him to do? Just hang back and let you get caught by them? You know he would never let that happen." He replied.

"I know. But he didn't have to go as far as he did. He should have just gotten out of there." I frowned, dwelling on what happened.

"I was lucky to get you out. There was nothing more anyone could do for him. I saved you. That's what he would want and that's what I did." He justified.

"We shouldn't have gone so deep into the city." I told him as more tears fell.

"We've nearly depleted the houses at the edge of the city. We have to move further in if we want the supplies we need to survive." He stated.

"I know. But I can't handle losing anyone else." I said and moved to his side again, my head once again on his shoulder. "I miss him, Conner."

"I miss him too." He said placing a kiss on the top of my head.

We stayed till the water became lukewarm, returning the rocks to their bed of coals, before going and changing back into clothes. The sun was nearly set, making us move that much faster to get back into the main building. We were nearly to the doors when Echo's ears perked and her head whipped around. I looked at Conner who practically shoved me through the door, stepping in before calling the dog. We secured the doors before moving further into the building, watching through the windows to see if what Echo heard would show itself. Several minutes had gone by before the first walker moved past the windows. A man. It was as grotesque as they all were. Part of its face was missing, as well as an arm. My body tensed but Conner quickly put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Soon there were two more. One man and one woman. The woman looked fresher then the rest. She must not have been killed very long ago. To our relief, they showed no interest in the doors or what lay behind them. When they were out of site I released the breath I had been holding. Conner smiled at me before gently moving me toward the door to the stairs.

"I wish we still had power." I said as I dropped onto the couch. "I would love to watch a good chick flick right now."

"P.S. I love you?" Conner smiled at me.

"That is a good one." I smiled back. "But even that one might hurt too much."

"So much has been lost." He said sitting next to me, lighting the several candles on the coffee table and the small tables on either side of the couch.

"Too much." I said as he put his arm around me.

"I guess we'll do the usual then." He said and leaned forward, grabbing the book that sat on the coffee table. "Where were we?"

"Peeta and Katniss are in the cave." He said as he opened it to the folded page.

I smiled as I leaned into him. "I love this part."

"It's a good part." He said and kissed my forehead before hunkering down just a little bit further.

He read aloud for several chapters, his voice rising and falling with what was happening in the book. We'd read The Hunger Games at least half a dozen times. It never got old. My heart still raced when the two had a moment. My breath still caught when Clove almost killed Katniss at the feast. It was exciting every time. We were nearly the final few chapters when my eyes started to drift closed. Conner's voice softened before he stopped reading.

"I'm awake." I told him, sitting up a little further.

"Nope. Time for bed." He said taking his arm from around me.

"I guess." I said and stood.

"Sleep tight." He smiled up at me.

"Aren't you going to bed too?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm gonna stay up for a bit." He replied.

Nodding at him, I went and changed before brushing my teeth, keeping my personal hygiene in check. One of the few things that still made us different from the dead that were walking around outside. Crawling into bed, where Echo had already moved to, I lay on my side facing my nightstand. The moon's light was shining through the window, illuminating the pictures that sat on top of it. I may have been tired while sitting on the couch but now that I was alone in the dark with pictures of what I'd lost looking back at me. Echo sighed and rested her head on my side. I didn't know how much time had gone by when she lifted her head, hearing footsteps. I heard him stop in the door way before they approached the bed. Echo yawned before moving to her bed that was in the corner of the room. The bed shifted and Conner's arm moved around me. Taking his hand, I cradled it against my chest as his body moved against mine.

"I couldn't sleep. The room was just too quiet." He told me softly.

"I know what you mean." I replied, still looking at the pictures.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Me too." I replied before finally shutting my eyes.

Feeling his face against my hair, I felt a small sense of comfort. At the same time there was a sense of dread. He was the last person I had that meant anything to me. The other were friends, yes, but none came close to how much Conner meant to me, especially after everyone I'd lost up until now. If anything happened to him there'd be no point in fighting the inevitable. Suicide no longer meant the same thing as it had before. If anything happening to him…it would have a whole new meaning for me.

Come morning, I didn't feel any more rested then when I had lain down. Conner was already gone, as well as Echo. Going out into the living room, I found Finn sitting on the couch. He was reading, clearly very into it. As far as companions went, I had lucked out. Like Conner, he was well built. He was in his mid twenties, with wavy light brown hair that fell just past his ears, and not to mention a sexy Scottish accent.

The majority of our group had been college students before the world went to hell. Happily studying and partying to their hearts desires. Now all they had were books they no longer needed. Almost everything any of us owned we no longer needed, but we kept them around to make us feel like we were still human. Holding on to whatever semblance of a life we could. We weren't dead yet and there had to be something more then fear to fill our days.

"Morning." I smiled as I dropped onto the couch next to him.

"Morning, sunshine." He smiled putting his arm around me.

"What are you reading?" I asked.

"A Wrinkle in Time." He told me. "I used to read it as a boy. I found it in a random room and wanted to read it."

"My fifth grade teacher read us the whole series. She was tough and most thought she was scary, but I loved her. She was strong and caring. I liked seeing her even after years of not. She passed away from cancer several years ago."

"I'm sorry." He said kissing the side of my head.

"Don't be. Turns out she's the lucky one." I said looking up at him. "She left when the world was still normal. When the things we cared about still mattered."

There was a long pause before he said, "But on the bright side, we no longer have to worry about bills and working and money."

"That is a bright side." I smiled at him. "But there's also lack of food, lack of water, lack of gas, and the fear of impending doom."

"Way to be positive." He said and gently tapped my nose.

I gave a soft laugh, hunkering down into his side, his arm moving over my shoulder. "Where's Conner?" I asked.

"He took Echo outside and is doing a perimeter sweep." He replied.

"He remembered his silencer this time, right?" I asked.

"He did. I made sure of it." He nodded.

"Thank you. I don't want a repeat of the last time." I replied. "Or of yesterday."

"Peter was a good guy. I'm so sorry that this happened to you." He said kissing my hair again. "You don't deserve it."

"No one does." I replied.

"You seem to be holding up better then we all thought you would." He stated on the air of caution.

"I had my breakdown moment. If I dwell on it, it's just going to drive me crazy. As well as into depression." I told him.

"He was your brother. You're allowed to be depressed." He told me gently.

"And believe me, I want to be, but it's not going to do any good. Conner is more depressed then me. He just lost his last best friend. He doesn't have anything left but me and my dog. And I have him." I said as my eyes filled with tears.

"You have me too." Finn said gently rubbing my arm.

"Yeah, I have you too." I smiled, gently gripping his chin.

There was a knock on the door and Lex and Rebecca came in. Smiling at them, they sat in the round chairs across from us.

"How are you holding up?" Rebecca, the white South African, asked gently, your typical blond haired blue eyed babe.

"I'm doing okay." I replied. "I'm not great but I'll be okay."

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Lex, our Asian friend, asked with her strong voice. She had never been good with sympathy.

"I would love some cheese popcorn." I told her seriously. They both just looked at me with expressions that told me they didn't know what to say. Lex stared at me with her slanted eyes, giving nothing away, her long, slightly wavy, black hair the only thing that moved as if fell over her shoulder. Rebecca started to play with her hair, pulling her pony over her shoulder as her eyes moved between me and Finn. I took a small amount of pleasure in their squirming before I finally let them off the hook. "I'm kidding guys." I smiled. They both relaxed and smiled at me. "I'm gonna go get dressed." I told them and stood going to my room. Once the door was closed, I leaned against the door, sighing as I let my front of strength fall down.

"She looks good." I heard Rebecca say.

"She's hiding her feelings." Lex added. "She needs to let it out."

"After everything she's been through. After everything that has happened. If she lets it all out then she's going to crash…hard." Finn told them.

"But she needs to or we're going to be down to four." Rebecca replied. "She's going to fall off the band wagon and end up getting herself killed, or worse, taking care of it all on her own."

"But after Chris and now Peter…" Lex said and trailed off.

"She's strong." Finn added. "And Conner won't let anything happen to her. Neither will I. None of us are. We're going to watch out for each other like we always do. If we don't then we're all going to be left alone to deal with everything that's going on out there. We need to stick together and be there for each other. Nothing else matters anymore. Just staying alive and staying together." He finished, followed by silence. "So, just give her a break. Let her deal with it her own way. And maybe finding some cheese popcorn might not be such a bad idea."

There was the sound of small laughter before the room got quiet again. Going to my bathroom, I washed myself from the head to toe, enjoying the cold water as much as I did every day. Letting it dry a little, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a purple tank top. Thankful that there were actually clean clothes around at the moment. Spraying my hair with leave in conditioner, I combed and braided my hair over my shoulder; it fell half way down my chest. Even though I was done, I didn't want to go back into the living room. I didn't want their looks. I didn't want any pity or sympathy looks. I was still me, just…a lesser version.

When I went back into the bedroom, Conner was laying on the bed. Smiling, I gave Echo's head a stroke before I crawled onto the bed next to him, resting my head on his chest. "Hi."

"Hi." He smiled and started to gently rub my back with the tips of his fingers.

"Find anything?" I asked.

"A few walkers but I took care of them." He told me. "How you holding up?"

"I'm okay." I replied. "Everyone else seems to be worried about me though. I overheard them talking."

"Yeah, they are." He confirmed.

"They're worried about you too, you know." I said propping myself on my elbow so I could look at him. "Peter's death affects you just as much as it affects me."

"Yeah, but he was your brother." He said sitting up.

Doing the same, I sighed, "He was just as much family to you. I consider you family."

"Likewise." He said rubbing my back.

There was a long pause before I asked, "So, what now?"

"I don't know." He replied sadly. "I guess we do what we usually do."

"Monopoly?" I asked before we both started laughing.

"Let's at least go out and join the others." He said holding out his hand to me.

Nodding, I took it, letting him pull me up from the bed. Echo sat up and yawned before coming to my side as we walked back into the living room. Everyone was sitting around talking about whatever topic had come up. The only person we were missing was Tym. He was the oldest of us by at least twenty years. Making my twenty-six years looking pretty good when it comes to running for your life. He wasn't as fit as he used to be but we couldn't count him out when it came to running for your life. He didn't mind the group energy but he liked his alone time. He'd become obsessed with puzzles. For his birthday a few weeks ago we had found him some puzzle glue and had taken several different sizes from frames for him to put his puzzles into. It might have been a ridiculous notion to give him anything, but it meant a lot to him. Enough to make it completely worth it.

"Hey." Finn smiled as we came into view. "Just in time."

"For what?" I asked sitting next to him.

"For the rousing game of scrabble that's going to determine what's for dinner." He smiled.

Laughing, I grabbed a tile rack and waited for the letters to come my way.


	3. Chapter Three

_**Chapter Three**_

The apartment was quiet as I stood on the balcony, looking out over the woods. Echo sat at my side, her eyes, ears, and head leisurely moving back and forth as she listened to what was going on around us. Gently blowing on my coffee, I took a sip, enjoying the taste. I'd spent the last week or so attempting to perfect the long hand way of making coffee. It took a lot of wasted effort but I finally managed to make a decent cup. Something that made all our other problems a little more bearable.

"What are you doing?" Conner asked coming up from behind me.

"I'm thinking." I replied.

"Any walkers yet this morning?" He asked.

"Yup." I nodded. "Another dozen."

Conner sighed and rubbed his head. "More and more are coming."

"I know."

"We might have to relocate." He added.

"To where?" I frowned, finally looking at him. "Where would we go? The only place we could go would be the woods. Making our own settlement out of nothing."

"We knew we'd have to do it eventually." He replied.

"But we're happy here." I told him.

"I know. But if we don't move soon then we're going to miss our window of opportunity. If we get stranded here then we're going to run out of food and water and then we're going to die a slow death." He replied almost on the forceful side.

"We need to discuss it with the others." I replied.

"It's breakfast time anyway." He told me and moved toward the door.

I was still dressed from the previous day, unable to sleep after the events of the past few weeks. Walkers had attempted to come through our front door several days ago. We had taken them out but more and more had come wandering onto our grounds. Lex and Rebecca were stranded in the recreation building for over a day before we were able to kill enough of them to get them back safely. Since then Rebecca had continuous nightmares while Lex was like me, always awake and prepared for something to happen.

"Hi, sweetie." I said softly, running my hand down Rebecca's head, placing a kiss on the top of it.

"Hi." She said and put her arms around me.

Holding her tightly, gently rubbing her back, I looked at Conner sadly. Knowing that he was probably right and that we'd be risking the safety of our people in less then a day.

"Lexy." I smiled at her.

She smiled back; moving to Rebecca's other side, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Caroline."

Conner went off and started talking to Finn and Tym. Gently moving Rebecca's arms from around me, I smiled down at her. "Have you eaten yet?" She shook her head. "Let's do something about that."

Making her get up, Lex and I took her to the kitchen and lit the coals under the grate so we could make breakfast for everyone. We made powdered eggs and managed to make a decent fruit salad out of what wasn't starting to rot. Managing to poorly toast some bread, we had a meager feast to enjoy before we started to discuss our next move.

"Now?" Connor asked as he put his lips next to me ear.

"It's as good a time as any." I replied quietly as I ate the final strawberry from my plate.

"We have something we want to discuss with all of you." Conner said to a quiet table.

"We?" Lex said and looked at me.

"He talked to me about it first." I said averting my eyes. "We agreed it was something to bring to the group."

"What's going on?" Tym asked, also looking at me.

"Why are you looking at me?" I asked them, for now all their eyes were on me. "This wasn't my decision."

"Nothing's been decided." Conner stated.

"What's going on?" Tym asked still looking at me.

Frowning at Conner, I leaned forward and laced my fingers in front of me. I took a minute to think before taking a deep breath. "We're in trouble." I started, hoping that it would make their stomachs drop so they'd pay attention to what I was going to say next. "More and more walkers are arriving every day. After what happened to Lex and Rebecca and the increase in number of walkers we need to make an important decision." I told them and paused. "We need to consider moving on." I said slowly. "If we stay here we risk being stranded and starving to death. We need to move on while we still have the chance. While we have the ammo and the man power to give ourselves as good of a chance as we'll ever have." I said and paused again to take in their expressions. They all held the look of shock and fear. "I'm not saying it's a good plan, since the only option we have is escaping into the woods and building a home from the ground up. But they aren't in the woods. Not yet. Their food source is running low but if we get out of here while we still can then we can escape without losing anyone else and try and find refuge in the middle of nowhere." Pausing again, I had hoped that someone might jump in. Looking at Conner, his brows were furrowed but he wasn't saying anything either. Turning my attention back to everyone else I tried to further justify our reasoning. "I know it's going to take an immense amount of courage but we can do this. We must if we want to survive. Otherwise we're dooming ourselves to starvation. Our only other options are suicide or being killed by walkers." That was the end. I didn't have anything else and everyone still wasn't saying anything. "Okay, this is when you all get to put in your two cents."

They all just looked at each other before all eyes were once again on me. "Okay." Lex finally responded.

"Okay?" I asked.

"Okay." She repeated.

"I'll go." Rebecca added.

"I'm not breaking up our family now." Finn smiled at me. I took a moment to smile, taking Conner's hand, before our last member said something unexpected.

"I'm not going." Tym said standing up.

"What?" I frowned doing the same. "What are you talking about? You can't stay here all on your own."

"I can and I will. It's my decision." He said putting his dishes in the sink.

"I won't let you stay." I told him determinedly.

"And how are you going to make me go?" He asked as if he'd already won.

"How are we going to survive without you?" I countered. "You are the wisest of us. You help us stay calm. You're the father of this group and you can't just abandon us."

"It seems to me that you would be the one doing the abandoning. We can wait them out." He replied.

"No, we can't." I said shaking my head. "More and more walkers are coming every day. We won't be able to re-supply and we will starve to death."

"I'll last longer if I'm on my own." He stated.

"And then what? Starve? Do you really think that's your best option right now?" I asked.

"It's better then facing what might be if we leave."

"What about Emily?" Lex asked stepping to his other side. He frowned at her. "What do you think she'd think about you staying behind?"

"Don't bring her into this." He shot at her.

"She would want you to survive for as long as you could. That doesn't include staying here." She added.

"So you're just going to jump on board of this idea and leave the safety of a home that's treated us very well since the world went to hell?" Tym said, anger starting to bubble.

"Caroline is right." Rebecca said stepping between us. "We can't stay here. After what happened I am just as scared as you are to leave. I thought I was going to die. That I'd never see all of you again. But we all worked together and that's why we got out of their safe. That includes you. We can't do this without you." She was very convincingly, especially when a few tears slid down her cheeks. "We need you." He seemed to look at her for quite some time before he finally nodded. "Thank you." She said with relief.

"Thank you." Lex repeated.

"Thank you." I finished putting my hand on his arm.

He nodded again and put his arms around all three of us. We all hugged him tight before letting him go, all of us still nodding at each other.

"Let the preparations begin." Conner smiled.

For the next several hours we planned our escape. What we would bring and what we would leave behind. There seemed to be so much that we wanted to bring but was unrealistic in the end. Finn could not take his collection of books. It was a waste of space and wouldn't help us much if we ran into any number of walkers. It was much to his dismay, but he understood. I myself was going to have trouble packing for two. I managed to find a large enough duffle bag to fit enough for the both of us, only leaving behind what I had to. It was amazing what you could fit. We didn't have cars so we could only take what we could carry. I was carrying more then what most of the others had, making my road look a little tougher then theirs, but I would be fine. Echo needed food at much as the rest of us and I wasn't about to deprive her of our latest find just to lighten my load. It would lighten itself much quicker then any of us wanted to admit to anyway. We had no idea what to expect in the woods or how long it would take to feel safe again. All we knew was that it was time to move on. The walkers were too thick and there had to be a better place out there for us. More people with a safe home, keeping the walkers at bay while the world tries to figure out what went wrong.

"Do you ever think they'll find out?" Connor asked me that night on the balcony after everyone had finished packing.

"I don't know." I replied. "I hope so. Maybe there is some sort of cure for the freshly bitten. Something that we just haven't heard about since we've been so secluded here."

"You think we'll find others?"

"I hope so. It would be comforting to know that it's not just us. That someone else survived the madness and horror."

"Hey." Finn said coming out onto the balcony with us. "Can I join you?"

"Of course." I replied as he sat down next to me.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" He asked.

"What's wrong?" I frowned at him. "We've been over this."

"I know." He nodded. "But what if Tym is right and we end up dying tomorrow? We'd have lived longer then if we just stayed here."

"That's a chance I'm willing to make." I replied without hesitation. "We can't survive here much longer. We're cut off from all the supplies we've relied on for so long now. If we can't make it into the city then we're going to starve. The walkers are leaving the city and moving further and further outward in search of food. We need to get out while we still can. While there is enough of us to defend and protect our group. The woods can offer us more then what this place can now."

"There's no pool or libraries in the woods." He commented.

"Very funny." I smiled at him. "There are lakes and we'll find you more books along the way. I think you're already bringing too many."

"I love my books. Just like you love your dog. You're not leaving all of her things behind."

"She's alive, Finn. There's kind of a big difference." I grinned.

"Not to me." He said all pouty like. Putting my arm around him, I gently rubbed his back.

"We should be getting to bed." Conner piped up. "We've got a long road ahead of us and it starts with the sun."

Nodding at him, we all went back inside. The others had all gone off to bed or went somewhere to be alone. I was happy to return to my room and enjoy one last night on my bed. Who knew the next time any of us got to sleep in a bed again. The ground or trees would have to do from now on. But I'd take living over a comfy bed. At least for a little while.

Come morning, Echo and I stood on the balcony one last time, surveying the area. We had already taken out several walkers with the silencers, but more were still filtering through. It made me nervous. Far more nervous then I was willing to admit and it would be far too dangerous for me to show. Everyone was looking to me and Conner to do the right thing. To keep everyone safe from the horror that had become our lives.

"Are you ready?" Conner asked me gently

"No." I replied and smiled at him. "But we don't have a choice anymore."

"I know." He said and nodded.

"Though I wish you hadn't made me the bad guy in all of this." I told him coldly.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"I'm only mentioning it now because there will be no time to fight once we leave." I said and looked him in the eyes. "You didn't want to tell them what you thought so you threw me to the wolves. I understand. I get it. But I don't appreciate you forcing some sort of leadership on me."

"I didn't, Chris did." He replied getting defensive.

"Don't you dare bring him into this." I said pointing my finger at him. "Don't you dare. He's not here to defend himself and I will not let you talk bad about him. He's dead. He's dead and the leadership moved to Peter. Peter's dead so it should have passed to you. So why are you trying to push it onto me?" I finished and crossed my arms.

"I didn't ask for this." He shot at me.

"And you think I did?" I shot back at him.

"No, but I can't handle it. _You_ can."

"No, I can't. I lost everyone. _Everyone_. And now you want me to take responsibility of all these people?" I frowned hard at him.

"They already look to you." He replied. "It doesn't matter what I say or think. They are still going to turn to you every time. For whatever it is you think."

"Stop it." I said running my fingers through my hair.

"Why? It's true." He said more gently. "You have what it takes. Whether you believe it or not."

"Maybe before." I said and looked at him sadly. "But after Chris and then Peter. I can't take it anymore."

"Yes you can." He said putting his hands on my arms. "Maybe you need this. To help you to move on from everyone you've lost."

"Maybe. But I don't feel like I'm good enough for the job." I said as a few tears managed to fall down my cheeks.

"Caroline, if any of us are it's you. You have run more supply runs then all of us combined. Even more then Peter. You were the one who planned the escape for Lex and Becca. You've allowed us to live this far. That's why they look to you."

"But before no one was watching me. Now, especially with this new plan, I feel like they can't take their eyes off of me." I said and looked inside where everyone was strapping on their packs.

"Yeah." He said doing the same. "But you've got your handy dandy sidekick right next to you. I'll help you any way that I can."

"Thanks." I smiled and put my arms around him.

"Anytime." He said and hugged me tightly.

"I guess it's now or never." I sighed and went back inside, rubbing Echo's neck the whole way. I shouldered my large pack and faced my group of people. "Everyone ready?" I asked.

"No." Rebecca replied.

Tym looked like he wanted to puke while Finn and Lex looked like they were willing to face anything. It was nice to see a little courage on someone's face. Mine was forced, and felt fake at times, but I knew that I would get it done when the time came for action. I held two guns on my person, as well as a large hunting knife strapped to my right thigh. I made sure that everyone else had at least one gun on them, as well as a knife if there were knives to spare. Though most didn't want one, it was too easy to cut yourself in the heat of a fight. The only exception was Conner who held an axe at his waist. But he had the muscle to put the power that was needed behind it. I'd seen him in action with it. He knew what he was doing.

"The sun's barely up. It's the best time to go. We've already taken care of the walkers that were wandering the grounds. The path to the woods should be clear. If not then Conner and I will take care of them. Just get to the woods and follow the route we talked about." I said and looked at all of them in turn. "Remember, the higher the ground the better. I don't know how long we're going to need to walk so be sure to use your food and water reserves sparingly. Stay as a group and fight as a group. No wandering off and make sure if you have to fight that you hit them in the brain."

"We know." Lex smiled at me.

"I know." I said nodding at her. "I know you do, but I still have to say it."

"You've covered everything with us." Finn smiled. "We're going to be okay."

"Okay." I nodded at him. "Then we better get moving."

"After you." Finn smirked and opened the door.

"Thanks." I grinned and laughed before going out the door.

We all walked down to the back door that faced the woods. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Echo before opening it. She stalked out, moving without a sound as she looked to see if the coast was clear. She reappeared, letting out a muffled bark, signaling that no walkers were in site. Looking back at the others, I moved out, jogging across the yard, slowing to a walk once I was in the cover of trees. Everyone else ran in single file after me. Echo continued to move back and forth amongst the trees as we moved forward. Her nose was ever lowered to the ground, but she never showed signs of worry or danger near.

We traveled like that for several hours. None of us said a word, too afraid to attract unwanted attention. It wasn't until the sun was already started to move past its highest point in the sky when we stopped to rest. The others took a seat on the ground or a fallen tree. I stayed on my feet, taking one sweep of the area around us, finally letting myself relax a little as I sat next to Conner. I tried to make Echo lay down and rest but she simply looked at me before facing the woods again, her ears alert and nose moving for any sign of trouble.

"How are you doing?" Conner asked.

"Not well." I replied. "I'm kinda freaking out. We're out here in the open and I don't like not knowing if a walker is moving toward us or not. It makes me uncomfortable."

"We're okay. We're going to be fine. We've got our fearless leader and her fearless watch dog." He grinned at me.

"Okay, I think you forgot about the part about me freaking out." I smiled at him.

"But you relaxed a little right there." He said and nudged me.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, thanks." I nodded at him.

"You're welcome." He said and handed me a snickers bar.

Smiling wider, I took it, nudging him back before happily eating it. We only sat a few more minutes before I got everyone up and moving again. They were doing really well so far. Even Tym was keeping up with no problems. The day went on without any surprises. There were no walkers in site and Echo even relaxed enough to enjoy the little bit of nature we came across.

Come nightfall, we took out our tents, putting them up before making the best home out of them we could. All except me, that is. For safety, everyone bunked two to a tent. I was to share with Conner, but when everyone moved into their tents, I unrolled my sleeping bag and put it out in the open, sitting down on it with Echo at my side.

"What are you doing?" Conner asked me.

"I'm keeping watch." I replied unblinkingly.

"Caroline, you need to sleep." He frowned at me.

"No, I need to make sure that everyone is safe. I need to make sure that no walker is going to come and kill my family. That's what I need to do." I frowned back at him.

"No walker is going to come. We haven't seen or heard one all day. If one was even close to us then Echo would have alerted us and we'd have dealt with it. She has super hearing anyway; she'd wake us up if there was even a hint of danger." He told me. "Besides, even if there were walkers out there they would be moving too slow to catch up to us."

"What if we sleep for eight hours or more?" I asked. "What if we don't hear them?"

"They're not smart enough to unzip a tent. We'll know their here before they can do any of us harm. The only harm would be if you stay out here, fall asleep, and are wide open for a walker if it passes by. It's safer in the tent." He stated.

For a moment I just looked at him. He was right. I knew he was just as much as I knew that I was walking toward the edge of insanity. I was going crazy with my feelings of responsibility. I couldn't let anything happen to these people. Especially after they trusted me enough to come with me. They put their lives in my hands and I wasn't about to let them down. Not now. Not ever.

"Okay." I finally nodded.

"Thank you." He replied and held his hand out for me.

"I'm sorry." I told him, looking him in his eyes.

He sighed, putting his hand on my face. "It's okay. I get it. But what you may have forgotten is that while you're worrying about all of them, _I_ am worrying about you. Nothing can happen to you either." He said with such seriousness.

I smiled and nodded again. He nodded and kissed my forehead before leading me into the tent. We both slipped into our sleeping bags. He remained on his back while I rolled onto my side. Echo lay at our feet in front of the door. It took her several minutes to lower her head to rest. I was exhausted but my eyes wouldn't shut. Soon I could hear Conner's slow breathing, telling me he was asleep. It was that sound that finally allowed my eyes to shut and drift to sleep.


	4. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four**_

Waking slowly, I opened my eyes to the sun streaming through the side of the tent. I was warm inside my sleeping bag, making my eyes feel heavy again. Then I remembered where I was and why I was here, making me bolt up and practically fall out of the tent. I startled everyone, even my dog, as I took in the scene. Everyone was just sitting there either with breakfast, water, or a book in their hands. Conner stood and looked at me. I could feel the confused expression on my face.

"Morning." I finally muttered.

"Are you okay?" Conner asked.

"Yeah, I…just kinda…freaked out there for a second." I said running my fingers through my hair, taking a seat next to my dog.

"Yeah, we got that." Lex said handing me a bottle of water as she sat down.

"Sorry, I've been so gung-ho about keeping an eye on everybody that I kinda freaked when I was the one who slept in." I smiled at her.

"We all thought you could use it." She smiled.

"Yeah, I could've." I nodded at her. "Anything happen?"

"The woods are silent." Conner said sitting on my other side. "Everyone is safe and sound and nothing is wrong."

"Okay." I smiled at him. "Okay."

I couldn't help but feel anything but happy. There was no happiness in my mind that even attempted to push to the surface. There was only one thought in my head and that was keeping everyone safe. Safe. It was starting to feel like an impossibility. Any amount of safety was rare and there was always a walker or a herd of walkers that were right there to take it away from you. But everyone seemed relaxed at the moment. There was no fear on their faces. For a moment it appeared as if the danger wasn't at our front door anymore. But to me if felt like it was all around us. The danger was everywhere in this wide expanse of space. Maybe they were okay with pretending like things were okay but I couldn't handle the fact that the small amount of stability may be snatched away at any moment. Everyone was talking, starting to pack things up, when Echo's ears perked up before she stood and faced the woods with a lowered head. I immediately grabbed my knife, the closest weapon to me. Moving to my dog, I scanned the woods, trying to pinpoint what had caused her to react, my heart racing faster and faster. After several minutes the danger seemed to have passed and Echo looked up at me and heaved a heavy sigh. I nodded at her before turning back to the group. They all looked like they had been holding their breath.

"It's time to go." I told them.

They all nodded and immediately moved into action. The camp was packed up in just a matter of minutes. Packs were thrown over shoulders and we once again were on the move. I pushed everyone to keep a quick pace at the beginning. Whatever had alerted Echo could still be out there and we needed to put as much distance between us and whatever it was as soon as we could. A confrontation was inevitable but the deeper we got into the woods the stronger I hoped that it wouldn't be any time soon.

"How are you doing?" Conner asked well into the afternoon.

"I don't know." I replied as I continuously scanned the woods.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"No." I replied. "I want you to make sure the rear of the group is safe."

"Hey." He said grabbing my arm, stopping me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself." He said putting his hands on my arms. "Everyone is fine. Nothing is out there. We're okay."

"But for how long?" I asked as I noticed everyone had stopped and were pretending not to be listening in. "I'm on edge. As much as we needed to leave I'm still terrified of what's out there." I looked at them before I dropped to a whisper. "I'm responsible for all of these people and I'm not going to let anything happen to them."

"They're fine." He told me. "Nothing is going to happen, and if it does then we'll deal with it. You have to try and relax."

"I can't." I said and felt a way of emotion.

"This is torture." Finn said and moved to me, putting his arms around me.

Soon Lex came and did the same, followed by everyone else. I was engulfed with arms of love and support. I couldn't help the tears that spilled over as I took in their comfort. I had been spending so much time protecting them that I had forgotten that they were my best friends and my family.

"We look out for each other." Finn told me sweetly.

"You don't have to try so hard to protect us." Lex added.

"We love you." Rebecca said next.

"I love you guys." I said my voice breaking. "So much."

"Everything is going to be fine." Tym said putting his hand on my head.

"I just want all of us to be safe." I replied.

"You have been doing splendidly." Tym told me. "You've done everything in your power to keep us safe and aware. You're the best of us."

Slowly leaning away from Conner's chest, I looked up at him. "Do you really believe that?" I asked.

"We've chosen a good leader." He smirked and winked at me.

"I hate you for saying that." I said but couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You've had it hard, but we've all got your back, no matter what." Finn said pulling me against him.

"Thank you." I told him. "Thank all of you."

"You are welcome." Lex said. "And don't think that you can't talk to us. Don't be afraid to express your thoughts or feelings. We may look to you for guidance and decision making, but we're still your friends and we're not going anywhere."

"And we're going to make sure you don't either." Rebecca smiled.

"You're the glue to our little family." Tym said pulling me against his side.

Looking at my little family I couldn't help but grin, "We're going to be okay."

The remainder of the day was spent in a lighter mood. I wasn't as concerned or trying as hard to make sure that everything was okay. The woods were thinning slightly and Echo seemed slightly on edge.

"Hold up a sec." I frowned and the group stopped. Opening up the map from the side pocket of my bag, I located our position, seeing a small town on the map. "There's a small town just ahead. There might be walkers there. I want you all to give it a few miles of space."

"Us all?" Finn frowned.

"I'm going to take Echo and scout ahead. If any are starting to wander into the woods I want to take care of them before they catch our scent." I replied.

"I'll go with you." Conner told me.

"No." I said shaking my head. "I need you to stay with the others."

"Then I'll go." Finn replied.

"No." I told him sadly. "I'm not going to risk anyone. Me and Echo can handle it."

"No. I'm going." Finn said handing his bag to Lex, pulling his gun out.

Sighing, I nodded at him, handing my bag to Conner. "Fine. But you do what I say; when I say it, no matter what you think of it. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you." Finn nodded.

"Alright then." I frowned and turned to Conner. "Keep everyone else safe. We'll be right behind you."

He nodded and took my head in his hands before placing a long kiss against my forehead. "Be careful."

"I will." I smiled and put my arms around his neck. "I will."

Finn and I watched the others walk out of site before we turned toward the town. We moved slowly and quietly. It was only a few minutes when the first buildings came into view.

"Remember, move quietly and do not hesitate if you run into a walker. Okay?" I told Finn.

"I know, Caroline." He said with his smooth Scottish accent, a smile on his face.

Smiling, I nodded and we were off again. Echo paced in front of us, her nose to the ground. We passed the first few buildings without seeing anything. Echo was on edge and she was cautious as she moved past the edge of a building over to the next. It wasn't till we were near the heart of the town when we heard the first muffled shuffles of undead feet. Finn and I looked at each other before we moved forward. Holding my gun at the ready, I moved against the building, seeing the walker move past the window. Echo dropped to her belly, her body tense, ready to spring if necessary. Sliding down the building, I spider-walked underneath the window, turning the corner, doing the same until I reached the door. Taking a deep breath, I spun into the doorway, raising my gun, shooting the walker through the eye. Only my initial assessment had been a bit off. The first dropped as three others came forward. I took them out but it made my heart race. Letting the breath I had been holding out, I turned to see Finn entering the building, there was a ruckus. I made to run to him, but half a dozen walkers started to come out of the remaining buildings. Echo kept running forward as I stopped and raised my gun, shooting them in turn as they moved toward me, their groans and deformed bodies radiating a stench as they came nearer. They were closer behind me now and I knew that there were only a few bullets left before I'd have to change my clip. Finn and Echo were still inside when the clip emptied. Hitting the button, it seemed like an eternity for the clip to fall out and for me to slam the next inside of it, clicking it into action. It was a fraction of a second too late as I felt the dead hands on my shoulder. Still shooting with my left hand, my right grabbed the knife at my thigh, swiftly bring it up, meeting resistance over my shoulder before the walkers teeth could sink into me. Then there were other shots as Finn joined, dropping the rest of the walkers with ease. Standing in the middle of the dead, I looked over at him.

"Nice timing." I nodded at him.

"You were doing well all on your own." He smiled and took my hand as I stepped over the bodies.

"Yeah, but I almost died right there." I smiled back.

"You handled it effortlessly." He grinned, pulling me into a hug.

I couldn't help but laugh and I hugged him tightly. "Come on, we gotta clear the rest of this place. The woods too."

We spent the next hour or so taking care of any possible walkers in the vicinity of the town. We only found three or four but it didn't mater, one was a threat and they all have to be eliminated. Once that was done we started to jog in the direction we knew our group would be in. They had a good head start but we'd find them.

"Finn?" I said looking at him.

"Hm?" He replied with a small smile.

"Thank you." I told him.

"For what?" He smiled.

"For coming with me. For helping me. For…everything." I replied, putting my hand on his arm, stopping him. "I really mean that."

"I know." He said putting his arm around me. "And you're welcome. Thank you for everything too."

"It was nothing." I smiled and hugged him before moving on again.

The sun had been set for a few hours when we caught a slight glow in the distance. The glow sent an overwhelming sense of happiness that both of us started to run toward them. Echo barked twice, alerting them to our presence. I hadn't even made it to the camp when Connor was running into the woods. Calling out to him, I ran faster, launching myself into his arms. He spun me once before he put me down. Running my hands down his chest, I smiled up at him.

"Hi." He smiled.

"Hi." I replied and put my arms around him again.

"You're okay?" He asked.

"I am." I nodded. "How are all of you?"

"We're fine. Everything's going to be fine."

"I'm starving." I said and laughed.

Laughing with me, we all rejoined the group, Finn and I regaling them with our latest fight and how together we had come out on top. There was a mixed sense of fear and awe. None of us had fought so many and most of us had yet to actually make a kill. I had talked their ears off more times then I can count about how to kill and avoid them but to actually do it was something completely different. Now they had something more to go on. A new story to keep in their minds about the reality we live in. A reality that was terrifying and life threatening every day of our lives and was never going to stop. Never.

That night, I was the last the go to bed, wanting to sit out under the stars. Still too wired to be able to sleep. The sky was clear and the stars were so bright I thought I could feel them reflecting off my eyes. For a moment I was excited about what happened today. The exhilaration of the fight. Knowing what needed to be done and getting it done. Doing what others might be too afraid to do. Having the courage to do what was right in the face of adversity. For a moment I felt all of those things. Like I was one of the people in this world still willing to fight the fight. To make people realize that bad things happen but that you need to fight back in order to survive. We as a nation, united in one cause, could put this world back to the way it was. For a moment I believed that. For a moment I believed that all of that was within my grasp.

But then Chris popped into my head. One of the few moments where I really believed that we could survive the hell that had broken out over the world. It was one of the most random moments we had had in this new world. Our group had just pushed through the center of the city and had lived to tell the tale. We were still on the move away from the fighting, not really going anywhere, when we stumbled through the city zoo. It was ridiculous but Chris and I were so high from the fight that it led us to break from the group, running through the zoo till we found a cave in one of the enclosures. There was still hay lining the bottom of it.

"You did well today." He smiled down at me.

"That's because I learned from the best." I smiled up at him.

"Have I mentioned today how much I love you?" He asked with furrowed brows.

Leaning into him, I shook my head, "Not that I can remember. But…" I said trailing my finger down his chest. "But maybe you can show me." I whispered.

He got that mischievous grin on his face that I knew so well, before he lifted me up into his arms. My lips found his and never ceased as he laid me down on that bed of hay. His hands squeezed my sides as we continued to kiss. My body quivered with anticipation. It had been too long since we had had any alone time. And there was something highly erotic about making love in the middle of a zoo. Soon we had pulled all clothes from our bodies. Our breathing labored as the heat inside the cave intensified. He kissed me from head to toe, me doing the same for him. Pressing his sweet spot on his back, he gripped my sides tighter as he slid inside of me. Arching against him, I groaned with pleasure as he rocked against me. My knees gripped his sides as I moved with him. Our lips moved against each others with such passion that I thought they might just fall off before we were done. When I was dizzy with pleasure, he finally rested his body down on top of me, his head resting against my chest. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and head, panting with joy.

"Wow. You showed me pretty well." I smirked at him.

"Yeah, well, I am pretty good in bed." He smirked back.

I couldn't help the laughter that erupted from me. The happiness that I felt. We were playing around, joking and having fun, when an odd sound caught our ears. We both froze and looked around the cave. What we hadn't noticed before was the entrance to another enclosure, five wolves staring at us curiously.

"I wasn't expecting that." He said as we stared back at them.

I laughed and shook my head. "Aren't they beautiful?" I asked as I rolled onto my stomach.

"They really, really are." He said and moved to his knees. "Maybe not all hope is lost. Just seeing them makes me feel that we can survive this. We can come back once all this is over. They stand for more then just survival. They are the epiphany of hope and love. This pack before us represents more to me then anything else we've seen so far." He finished and smiled down at me.

"Those wolves tell you all that?" I smiled back, falling even more in love with him.

"Yes. Plus they haven't eaten us yet and I bet they're hungry." He said and went to his bag.

I watched in awe as he fed them the remainder of his beef jerky. It was his favorite food and something he'd been saving in case we didn't come across any for quite a while. Yet here he was, being selfless to a pack of wolves that managed to survive on their own. One even took the jerky from his hand, sending the biggest smile across his face I wish I had a camera to capture it with. The naked man feeding beef jerky to wolves.

Finally dressing, we looked at our new friends once more before leaving. "Thanks for letting us borrow your house, guys." I smiled at them before we exited the cave.

There was one moment just outside the cave where Chris wrapped his arm around me, the other moving to my face. For just a moment he looked into my eyes, with those glorious deep blue eyes of his, and he told me everything that I needed to know. How much he loved me. How much I meant to him. Mine were telling him exactly the same thing.

He was dead three days later. But we had had our moment. He knew what he meant to me. He knew how much I loved him. At the end of the day…that had to mean something…


	5. Chapter Five

_**Chapter Five**_

It was amazing how time became irrelevant as more time passed. Days came and went and we were still on the move. Since the small town we had yet to run into any more walkers, let alone any sign of other survivors that may have passed this way at some point. We were still moving to higher ground but it seemed to be taking longer then any of us had expected. I had expected setbacks but so far the worst was not finding what we were looking for. Nothing but trees lay ahead or behind us. We came across a river and managed to refill all of our water bottles, making sure we at least didn't die of thirst. We were getting hungrier but Conner and Finn had been practicing their knife throwing and managed to snag us a few squirrels and even a rabbit. Not sure how they did it but we were all very pleased with the fresh meat. It would be enough to keep us going for a few more days then we would have without it. We were keeping a positive outlook on things, but it wasn't going to take long before a melancholy would start to move through. But I was going to try and hold on to hope. Chris would want me to. Peter would want me to. If not for myself then for Conner. For the others. At least that task would keep me going for a while.

"I would give anything for a nice cold beer right now." I smiled when the silence was starting to get to me.

"And a pepperoni pizza to go with it." Lex grinned back.

"Mmm." Rebecca smiled. "And a bag of Doritos."

"A nice bottle of wine." Tym added with a smile.

"I want the popcorn shrimp basket from DQ with lots of tartar sauce." Finn stated with a sad expression.

I smiled and ran my hand down his arm. "Conner?" I asked, wanting to know what he wanted.

He looked at me and smiled, looking at the ground for a moment. "I would kill for a nice hot cup of coffee."

"We'll find you some instant stuff." I smiled at him.

"That'd be nice." He smiled back.

"Wishes that won't come true." Lex said, though her smile was still on her face.

"You never know." I told her. "We might get lucky yet. Maybe not about the pizza part, but everything else might come true."

"Don't hold your breath." Rebecca smirked.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not. Just trying to stay positive." I replied.

"I'm glad someone is." She said in a hushed tone.

Wanting to retort, but knowing better, I stopped talking as we all kept walking. It seemed that the moral of the group was in its first stage of dissolving. Not that I blamed anyone. I was all set to be right there with them if, as a group, they hadn't brought me back from the edge of crazy. It was only a matter of time, though I had hoped it would've taken a few more days before it began.

Another day or so had passed when we had another run in. Only we were happy to discover that it wasn't of the walker kind. Echo had alerted us to something. I scouted ahead; leaving the group behind, to see what had her all wound up. Moving through the trees, a wooden fence came into view. I could hear sticks breaking in the distance. Climbing over it, I kept moving. Echo seemed anxious but it wasn't in her usual way. It was almost as if she was excited about something. It took only a few more minutes for me to see them. Just through the trees I could see them watching me. One snorted and raised it head to smell the air. Elation was the only word for what I felt right now. Our prayers had been answered. This was going to make the group very happy. As I got closer I counted ten in all. Ten horses of a wide variety. There was a beautiful black stallion that appeared to be the leader of the herd. Telling Echo to stay, I moved forward until I was only a yard or so away from the stallion. He looked to be a Friesian with his black coat, long mane and tail, feathers on all four feet…beautiful. There looked to be two roan, a chestnut, an appaloosa, a paint, a grey dapple, and two draft horses and through their legs I could see a small pony. Smiling, I put my hand out, speaking softly to him, letting him know that I wasn't going to hurt him. He was tense, as he should be, but as I held my ground, and continued to talk to him I could see his muscles start to loosen, just a little. He slowly took a few steps forward, reaching out his head to get a good whiff of me. He took a few more steps. This time I took a few of my own and pretty soon he was just a few inches from my fingers. It took a few more minutes before he finally pressed his nose into my hand.

"See?" I smiled as I closed the distance, running my hand down his neck. "I'm not so bad. Echo!" I called and the dog trotted into site. "Be nice. These are our new friends."

The stallion smelled her before gently nudging her with his nose. She dropped her front, wagging her tail as she tried to play with him. She darted to the side as he moved his head, darting the other direction when he got close. He whipped his head and nudged her with his nose again. Laughing, it was nice to know the dog wouldn't be a problem around them.

"Alright guys. Let's take a look at your home." I smiled at them.

Moving through them, I could see a house in the distance. They had a mass amount of space here. As I walked through the pasture there looked to be open gates into an adjoined one that was probably just as big. Since they hadn't jumped the fences yet, between the two, there was probably enough food to sustain them.

Once I got to the house, I made sure to look into the windows before just barging in. Moving along the side of the house, I was nearly around when I noticed the body in the living room. Sighing, I let myself into the house. Going to the room she was in, I looked at the poor woman who had taken her life. Next to her were two blue heelers, both shot in the head.

"Couldn't let your dogs live without you huh?" I asked the body.

Moving to the kitchen, I checked for anything we could use. Finding a closet of imperishable items, I couldn't help the grin that crossed my face. Searching the house I found a large military duffle bag. Stuffing it with as much food that would fit, I returned to the main barn, seeing a wall of tack for the horses. There weren't enough saddles for everyone, but there were enough for almost my entire group. It had been a while since I'd ridden a horse but, thanks to Chris, I remembered enough to get them ready. Finding extra padding for the ones without saddles, I used one of the drafts to load the bag of food on. He would be fine carrying the load. I'm sure he was used to more. When they were all tacked up, I tied us all together, the Friesian in the lead with me on his back. I lined us up two by two, except for the pony who was willingly following the others. The drafts were at the end of the line, keeping everyone in plain site where I could keep an eye on them. They all seemed to be perfectly fit. No walker had come this far and with the large expanse of greenery they hadn't even thinned out over time. It was perfect.

"Alright, everybody, stay in line and we're going to take this nice and slow. Please keep pace, and little pony? Do not wander off or you will be on your own." I told them before moving everyone into a walk.

Echo trotted around us as she always did, leading us back to the group who would hopefully have kept moving on. She let out a little quiet woof when we were getting closer. Dismounting, I led the horses on foot, not wanting to startle anyone when I returned with the unexpected gift. Smiling, I excitedly hurried toward the sound of the group. When they came into view I was still a few yards away but couldn't help myself but to call out to them.

"Conner!" I called, laughing when he turned and smiled before frowning as he took in what I had. "We've hit the jackpot this time." I smiled as he ran over to me.

"What the hell, Caroline!" He said and picked me up as I threw my arms around his neck.

"This is what Echo was trying to tell us. No walkers. Just horses." I told him.

"Holy shit." He said patting the stallion's neck.

"Take your pick, but he's mine." I grinned at him. "Come on everyone!" I called to the others.

"I've never been fond of horses." Lex said stepping up to me.

"Oh, Caroline." Rebecca said breathlessly, gripping my arm before she moved to the appaloosa. "It looks just like my horse back home." She grinned.

"Then she's yours." I grinned.

"Thank you." She said and I could almost see the tears in her eyes.

Cold this morning. Warm this afternoon. Things were looking up.

"Come on, Lex." I said and led her to the male chestnut. "As far as I can tell, he's the sweetest of the bunch. He'll be a good fit for you."

"I don't like horses, Linny." She said, worry written across her face.

"Come on." I said and helped her get on top of him.

Giving her a quick lesson on how to move and steer him, I moved from person to person, making sure everyone was set. Tym took the other draft horse, feeling comfortable on top of the bigger horse. Finn claimed the dapple while Conner claimed one of the roans. Conner and Rebecca helped me tie on everyone's packs. I knew that both were experienced riders and would be two of the few who would be able to get on and off with no problems. I wanted Lex and Tym to stay put for as long as possible and I knew Finn would be a fast learner. Rebecca and I were going to be the two without a proper saddle. She was perfectly able at riding bareback and I was experienced enough to figure it out. Once everyone was on their horses, I made one more sweep passed everyone before I finally mounted the stallion again.

"Alright boys and girls, the next leg of this journey just got twice as easy." I smiled as I turned the horse to face the group. "Please try and stay close to each other. If you need anything please say something. The last thing we need is some horse bolting with you on top of it. I will caution you that because we don't know these horses there is a certain level of unpredictability. They may be jumpy or stubborn or who knows what. So be prepared and try and stay calm if anything happens." I finished and nodded at them. "Any questions, comments, concerns?" I asked. When they all remained silent I nodded again. "Alright, let's go."

It almost felt like part of the day had been wasted now that we were finally on the move. Even though the group had moved on, little ground had been covered while I stumbled across the horses and it took an hour or so just to get everyone and thing loaded onto the horses. Despite that, we were now covering twice as much group due to the help of our four-legged friends. It was the first positive thing that had happened since we'd left the sanctuary of our home. Echo continued to do what she normally would, zigzagging back and forth in front of us. There were a couple times that she stopped and listened. I watched the horses as much as I watched her. Their ears kept moving but they seemed calm and soon Echo relaxed and kept moving.

Once night fell, we all dismounted, hearing the moans and groans from very sore people. Even though we were just walking, it was amazing how sore you get from sitting on top of a horse. Part of me wanted to leave them tacked up but I knew it wasn't fair to the animals. Come morning I'd have help getting them ready so it wasn't as bad as doing it all on my own. Though I didn't have a problem doing that either. Gently stacking them along a fallen tree, we made camp for the night. No one argued when I put my sleeping bag over the tree next to where we tied the horses. I had grabbed enough halters to switch them from their bits now that we'd stopped, keeping them tied up, safe and comfortable with the group. Even the pony got tied up. I wasn't about to let the little guy wander off and wind up dead.

"Oh, Caroline." Conner said sitting on the tree.

"What?" I smiled at him as I finished giving them a ration of food that I'd taken from the barn for them.

"You can't help but wander off and return with more charges." He smiled.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat next to him.

"You know what I mean." He said making me smile further, nodding at him. "You know if we run into trouble you can't protect all of them."

"No one else is going to die." I frowned at him.

"I don't mean the people. I mean the horses." He smiled.

Giving a small smile in return, I nodded. "I know. But I'll keep them alive for as long as I can." I told him seriously.

"Don't make them as important as we are." He told me with the same tone.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you're going to get yourself killed one day protecting an animal." He replied.

"Please don't go there with me. You know you can't stop me if I put my mind to it anyway." I frowned and settled down on my sleeping bag. "Better get some sleep."

He simply nodded and left me to rest while guarding the horses. Lying across the tree, I watched as the others grew quiet in their tents, knowing that they were sleeping. Shutting my eyes, I tried to fall asleep, but it just wasn't coming to me tonight. Echo was sleeping on the ground next to me, the horses gently nickering to each other off and on, subtle noises as they too rested. Feeling a wave of emotion suddenly come over me, I tried to fight the need to cry. There wasn't time for it. It was weak and now more then ever I couldn't afford to be weak. Just as I feared I couldn't control it, I felt warm breath against my cheek before a soft nose gently nudged me. Opening my eyes, I saw the stallion's face next to mine. He rose his head just enough to nudge my forehead before he lowered it again so we were eye to eye.

"Those dogs must have been the most perfect dogs ever or complete assholes for your mom to take them with her like that. Leaving you and the others behind to fend for yourselves." I told him as I ran my hand across his cheek. "I think I know where I'd be more comfortable tonight." I smiled at him. Leaving the comfort of my sleeping bag, I climbed onto his back, lying down across it, resting my head in between his shoulders. He shifted back and forth but I found the movement relaxing. Nearly an hour on the tree yielded no results but ten minutes on top of the horse let sleep come and consume me.

When morning came, I woke up to the commotion of my group making breakfast. Sitting up, I stretched and slid forward on the stallion's back, leaning forward against his neck, rubbing it gently.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." Finn said handing me a bottle of water. I simply smiled at him. "Everyone is pretty excited about the food you found." I nodded again. "He really pissed you off this time didn't he?" He smiled. I looked down at him. "Wow. I'm not sure if I've ever seen you speechless. You're always so good with words." Now I couldn't help but smile. "There it is." He grinned up at me. "Come down from there, my sweet."

Nodding, I slid from the horses back into his waiting arms. "Thank you, Finn."

"Anytime, Linny." He said and winked.

Laughing, I shook my head at him, "Lex is the only one who can call me that."

"Yeah, yeah." He said and took my hand as he led me to the group.

"Where is everyone?" I asked worriedly as I realized that half the group was missing.

"Not five minutes from here there's a lake. It's been days and everyone is getting a bit ripe." He told me matter-of-factly.

Nodding, I smiled as I drank some water, leaning over and pouring it into my hand so Echo could drink. Conner was sitting across the small fire, watching me. Finn and I were happily talking. He asked me how I knew so much about the horses which got me started talking about Chris. An odd expression crossed Conner's face but I tried to ignore him. When Lex returned from the lake, he got up and met her, asking her how it was. Smiling, I listened to them until Conner came and said next to me.

"Here." He said holding out a can to me. "Pears. I know they're your favorite."

"Thank you." I said taking from him.

Opening it, I started to eat them, not wanting to make conversation with him. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to piss you off. I didn't say it right."

"I don't care what you think." I shot at him. "I will protect those animals to whatever end and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"It's not going to bring him back." He replied softly.

"Do _not_ bring him into this!" I yelled at him. "Everything I do, every decision that I make, does not resolve around my memory of him. And if memory serves then I remember that it was you who got him killed. It was _you_ who left him to die." I said standing up. "Now, I've forgiven you for that. Sometimes bad things happen that are completely out of our control. But the more you do this, the more you bring him up and try and bring me down, that forgiveness is going to wear thin and I will start hating you. So stop it, Conner. Just stop it." I finished and quickly moved away from him.

Walking past a shocked Finn and Lex, I went toward the lake. Echo followed at a trot, exploring as we went. When we reached the lake Tym was getting dressed while Rebecca still remained on the shore. She looked uncomfortable about getting undressed out in the open. Smiling, I nodded at Tym before sitting next to Rebecca. She really was the sweetest girl.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"I feel like people are watching me." She whispered.

Laughing, I nodded at her. "Yeah, but we both could use the cleaning."

"Are you saying that I smell?" She laughed.

"No." I laughed. "I'm saying that I smell and I'm not going in there alone."

She smiled but nodded at me. Together we stripped to our bras and underwear, running into the cool water. It felt amazing. Far more amazing then I would have thought. Together with the sand from the lake bottom and various rocks, we managed to clean ourselves quite well. I did the same for Echo, only without the sand. That would just get imbedded in her fur and I'd have a whole new problem. I felt like a whole new person when we finally stepped out of the lake. The sun was warm against my skin, closing my eyes I took a deep breath, lifting my head to feel its heat. It was odd, but for just a moment I could feel a hand on my side, another at my face. My eyes shot open, the feeling with them. I blinked it away as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Everything okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, I just had a feeling." I smiled at her.

She smiled sympathetically before linking her arm with mine. "I still get those too."

"You do?" I asked.

"Henry was the love of my life. Watching him die to protect me was the hardest thing I've ever had to go though." I nodded my agreement. "I dream about him often. Sometimes I can feel his hands against my skin. His lips." She smiled at me. "I look forward to the moments I can feel him. It makes me feel like he isn't really gone, that he's out there right now trying to survive just as I am."

"I wish that was all they were doing." I told her sadly.

"Yes." She nodded. "It would make the world a much brighter place if they were still here with us."

"Conner doesn't seem to understand it. Any of it." I told her. "And he's getting pushier about me forgetting him. Practically telling me not to hold on to him."

"That's because he's in love with you." She smiled at me.

"No he's not." I frowned at her.

"I know you don't see it, or don't want to see it, but he does."

"I don't want him to." I told her honestly.

"I know. But maybe it would be good for you to move on. He's the last link to your childhood. To your old life. It would be a shame to lose him as well." She finished, smiling at me before walking ahead, leaving me to think. Echo leaned against my leg, lifting her head to rest it against my hip. Rubbing under her chin, I leaned down and kissed her nose before I kept walking.

When the group came back into site, I couldn't help but stop and look at Conner. He was sitting alone, a sad look on his face. I remembered when you couldn't get him to stop smiling. He was the most happy-go-lucky person I knew. They were a trio. Chris, Peter, and him. I'd grown up in their shadow, wanting to be a part of the group but never quite getting there. Being a few years younger then Peter, it wasn't cool to hang out with his friends. And now look at us. Conner and I were the last ones left. Linked by the tragedy that ours lives had become. Still thinking for a moment, I took Echo's collapsible bowl, filling it with kibble before I turned back to Conner. Slowly walking to him, I sat next to him, taking his large hand in mine. It was rough but warm.

"I'm sorry." I told him sadly.

"You don't have to be." He replied with the same tone.

"Yes I do." I nodded. "I haven't been giving you the benefit of the doubt. It's not your fault that the world went to hell, killing everyone that meant the most to us." I told him as my eyes filled with tears. "And I don't want to be mad at you."

"I shouldn't have said what I did." He replied.

"No, you shouldn't have." I concurred. "Everything still feels so fresh. But I need you if I want to survive. I can't lose you too." I told him squeezing his hand.

"You never will." He said and pulled me into him.

Resting my head against his chest, he placed a kiss in my hair. We sat that way till everyone gathered around the fire. Conner picked up a can and handed it to me. Another can of pears. Smiling, I took it, enjoying them, as everyone filled their stomachs so we wouldn't have to stop for a while. Once that was done we packed up camp and were once again on our way. Since it was day two we tried moving faster, practicing trotting for a while. Everyone but Lex seemed to be enjoying themselves. She seemed increasingly anxious on top of her horse. I found it a sad excuse for a little entertainment. That and watching Echo chase squirrels, digging and playing as she ran circles around us.

"Anyone name their horses yet?" I asked, curious.

"Sunny." Tym smiled, patting his horse's neck.

"That's nice. I like it." I smiled at him.

"That makes mine less ridiculous." Finn stated.

"So?" I smiled.

"It's still ridiculous." Lex commented.

"Shut up." Finn grinned at her. "And yours isn't?"

"Not nearly." She said and laughed.

"You're killing us! What are their names?" Conner interrupted.

"Fine." Finn said and took a deep breath. "Shadowfax." Conner and I both looked at each other before we laughed. "I like Lord of the Rings." He said defending himself.

"No, it's very nice." I smiled at him.

"Tayla." Rebecca smiled. "And the pony is Ronan."

"Aw, those are so cute, Becca." Lex grinned at her.

"Such a grown up name for a pony." I stated.

"I like it." Lex stated.

"Thank you." Rebecca beamed back. "What about yours, Caroline?"

"Nixon." I smiled.

"Different." Finn stated with raised brows and a tilt to his head.

"No more different then Shadowfax." I shot back at him.

"I will say no more." He replied.

"Geek." Lex smiled at him.

"I'm the geek? You haven't told them yours yet."

"Lexy?" I smiled with a raised brow.

She just looked at me before sighing, "Fine. His name is Lupin."

"Harry Potter." I said mimicking the British accent.

We all laughed before Finn finally asked Conner what he had named his horse. Conner smiled but I already had an idea of what he'd chosen. They were just as geeky as Finn, only just not for Lord of the Rings. The woods grew silent as he simply smiled at us. I smiled, raising a brow at him as well.

"Alright." He grinned at me. "Chewy."

There was another roar of laughter. Star Wars. Typical man. But when we were young that was one of the most popular movies. Looking at him, he was blushing with embarrassment.

"It's a good name." I smiled, putting my hand on his arm. He didn't look like he believed me. "It is." I said reassuringly.

"Caroline…" Lex said her tone suddenly fixed as she stared up into the trees.

"What is it?" I asked as I followed her line of site.

Everyone stopped their horses and took in the site before us. We had finally found what we were looking for. A way to higher ground. A way to safety, or at least the closest thing we could get. There were hills and cliffs scattered it the distance. It looked to be some sort of ravine. There was even a road leading up to it.

"A road." Conner stated.

"I see it." I confirmed.

"Can we run now?" Lex asked.

I simply looked at her with a broad smile on my face.


	6. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six**_

There were no words to express the excitement that was flowing through all of us. We had found a road leading up into a place that would hopefully keep us from sight and offer enough shelter and safety for us to make a home. To finally be able to relax and form some semblance of life in this horror wasteland. Once we hit the road, we did exactly what Lex wanted us to do. Unsure how everyone would take it, I moved Nixon into a run. Conner and Chewy did the same and once we moved ahead the others did as well, whether their riders wanted them to or not. Echo barked twice before she darted ahead. We probably were making a bit of noise but if we could just round the bend we'd be okay. Once we were, I moved Nixon faster, wanting to get to the top and see what we had found. We easily broke free from the herd and moved ahead of them. Nixon seemed just as excited as I was. Only, when we reached the top, we skidded to a stop. My eyes grew wide with shock at what we were seeing.

"Holy shit." I said as people started to filter out to see what the commotion was.

"Caroline!" Conner's concerned voice yelled after me.

"You are not going to believe this!" I yelled back to him.

A dark haired man was the first to step away from the group. He was strong looking and clearly was the one in charge. He held a shotgun in his hand and a shocked expression that mirrored my own. Behind him stood a tall, thin woman with long brown hair, a young boy next to her. He had found Echo's favorite scratch spot on her rear, making her raise her head with pleasure as her back leg started to scratch at the ground. On the woman's other side there was a blond girl that looked to be a few years younger then me. There was an older man with white hair and beard, a fishing hat on his head. A tall middle aged man stood with him next to an RV. There were other vehicles as well. As well as other people. There were a slew of them. It was almost too much to comprehend. There were more survivors then I had ever dreamed of finding. Soon the others rode up behind me. They all stared in shock at what lay before them.

"Hello." The man said finally speaking.

"Hi." I replied and dismounted. "Sorry. We're just completely shocked." I said and led Nixon forward, my hand outstretched. "I'm Caroline."

"Shane." He replied.

"Nice to meet you." I grinned at him, stroking Echo as she came and sat at my side. "This is Connor." I told him as he stepped next to me. "Finn, Lex, Rebecca, and Tym."

"Lori, Carl, Amy, Dale…"

"Hi." I smiled at them.

"Um…" Shane said just looking at us. "How did you find us?"

"By pure chance." I replied. "We were just trying to find somewhere safe to try and survive."

"How long have you been traveling?" Lori asked.

"Just a matter of days." I replied.

Shane looked at Lori and it seemed something passed between them. I didn't know what to do. If I should ask if we could stay or what to even say to try and make them want us to.

"We have food." I told him quickly.

"Caroline." Conner scolded.

"What?" I frowned at him.

"That's great but I wasn't going to ask if you had any or not." Shane told me.

"Come on, let's get you settled in." Lori said stepping up to me.

"You're not going to ask more questions? Wonder what our plan is? Our intentions?" I asked, now concerned about their immediate generosity.

"We aren't the type to just turn survivors away." Lori told me. "There's more then enough space."

"You're serious, aren't you?" I told her with a slight smile.

"I'll be the one to tell you that a little extra food can't hurt either." Shane smiled.

"Caroline." Conner said again.

"They are welcoming us with open arms. The least we can do is share." I told him quietly.

"Where did you come from?" The older man, Dale, asked us.

"From the outskirts of the city. We were staying in an apartment building. It was a really sweet deal for a long time. But as their food source dwindled down in the city the walkers pushed outward and soon were knocking on our front door. We had no choice but to leave otherwise we'd have been blocked in and we'd have starved to death." I told him.

"So you came all this way on them?" Shane asked.

"No." I said shaking my head. "We found them just yesterday. We covered quite a bit of ground on them though. They've served us quite well. We traveled several days on foot beforehand."

"You guys are crazy." Shane smiled.

I laughed and nodded at him, "You have no idea."

We spent the remainder of the day getting settled in, finding space to pitch the tents, our group staying in close proximity to each other. The horses were tied nearby. Though we'd have to find some way to exercise them on a regular basis. Once all our things were unpacked in the tents, Echo and I took our leave with the bag of food, finding Shane.

"I have no problem sharing. But since we're willingly handing all this food over I do expect that everything is handed out evenly." I told him.

He nodded, "Of course."

"But…" I said and looked around to make sure Conner and the others were out of earshot.

"But what?" He asked.

"But I'm willing to give an extra can per person to your group first." I told him softly. "You all look like you haven't eaten a half decent meal in days."

"We haven't." He replied.

"That's why I'm saying this." I stated, wrapping my arm around Echo as she leaned against me. "You all need the food just a little bit more then we do right now. But it won't last forever. We need to ration. I'm just talking about the initial hand out. After that it's completely equal."

"You're friends aren't going to like that." He replied.

"I know." I nodded. "That's why I'm saying this once and only once."

"Okay." He nodded back.

"I'm going to be watching." I told him seriously. "If you go back on the agreement we just made, I will take everything we brought and we'll move on. But we'll all survive longer if we work together."

"I know that." He replied as if I had hurt his pride.

"I'm not saying it to be difficult." I told him gently. "But I am responsible for my group. Just as you are to yours. I will do what's best for them, Shane. Whether that includes your group or not."

"I understand, Caroline." He smiled.

"Good." I replied, standing. "Thank you for letting us stay."

"Of course." He said as I walked away from him.

Walking through the camp, I could feel all their eyes on me. I'm sure they wanted to know the new people. What we'd gone through, how we ended up here, and what were we planning on doing. I know I'd want to know. I'd want to know everything about someone new coming into my group. Otherwise you don't know if they can be trusted or not.

Feeling uncomfortable, I found Nixon where I had tied him, seeing Connor leaning against a tree next to Chewy. "Hey." I said sitting next to him.

"Hey." He said and put his arm around me.

Leaning into him, I shut my eyes. We were safer then we had been for days. There was a good chance that we were all going to sleep very well tonight. I was starting to fall sleep when I felt Conner's fingers slide across my jaw line. Opening my eyes I looked up at him. He looked nervous. I knew what he was thinking. Letting him caress my face, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I was lonely. Who wasn't? But I was still grieving. Something didn't feel right about leading him on when I wasn't ready to commit to anything. Before I could decide anything he put his lips against mine. For a moment there was heat before it disappeared and I turned my head away from him.

"I'm sorry." He told me taking his arm from around me.

"It's okay." I told him, nudging him lightly.

"I shouldn't have done that." He said, red coming to his cheeks.

"It's okay." I repeated. "But no, you shouldn't have."

"Won't happen again." He stated.

"Good." I smiled and nudged him again.

He smiled and nudged me back. "Come on, I hear the quarry is a good place to clean up."

"Can we take the horses?" I asked.

"I'm sure they'd like that." He replied.

Together we took the group of horses and found the rest of our people before heading to the quarry. We actually had a lot of fun playing in the water with the horses. I learned that Nixon enjoyed jumping from rocks, finding the feeling invigorating whilst atop his back. It was amazing how free they all were. We had taken their halters off and they all seemed to relish the feeling of being without them. I'm sure it seemed childish to anyone watching us, but we were having the time of our lives right now.

Over the next few days we grew to know our new friends and they grew to know us. I convinced Shane to allow us to leave the horses loose and halter free. It might not have been the smartest move to play, but that way they still got to move around and they never wandered far. We had all bonded with them enough that they knew us to be trustworthy food providers. Ronan became the favorite with kids and they took it upon themselves to look after him. We had started a routine with the others. Mostly washing clothes and gathering food. Echo did her part by managing to catch several squirrels. Finn was thriving as he spent an enormous amount of time reading. He borrowed his books out to those who promised not to harm them, bringing some joy to the new group. Something different from the norm. Though we were all different.

"Are you settling in all right?" Lori asked me as we picked through the mushrooms we had gathered.

"Yes, thank you." I smiled at her before smiling at the dog. She wore a happy grin as she panted in the warmth of the sun, proud of her mushroom finding capabilities. "It's a relief to know that we're not alone. I was beginning to feel like we were the last ones alive."

"You and me both." She smiled before we were interrupted.

"Can we play with Echo?" Carl and Sophia asked me with wide grins.

"Of course." I grinned at them. They called the dog after them and she happily joined them, eager to play with the ball they had found in Dale's RV. Turning back to Lori, I waited for her to go on.

"The radio went off the other day so it's not even just us. Someone else is alive out there too."

"And moving toward the city?" I frowned. She nodded. "There's only death in the city."

"I know. I tried to get Shane to allow us to put up a sign but he didn't go for it." She replied running her fingers through her hair.

"I'll do it." I told her.

"He won't let you." She replied.

"He's not in charge of me." I stated. "We may have joined groups but he's not my leader. My group is not going to automatically look to him. They are still going to look to me. There has to be some sort of compromise."

"He won't like that." She told me with a smirk.

I smiled back at her. "Probably not. But there's nothing he can do about it."

"You can't butt heads all the time either." She stated.

"I know. But he can't just allow whoever's out there to enter the city. It's suicide. We can't survive if we don't help each other. We came from that city. I'm not about to sit back and let them die just because one man said 'no'." I justified.

"You have a point." She told me.

I could see that we were on the same page with this. "I know I do." I grinned at her.

We laughed together, stopping as Shane walked by. He eyed us but didn't stop to see what was funny. That afternoon, Lori and I started to find what we would need to make a sign. Finding several pieces of wood, I managed to haggle a hammer and nails from Dale. The only way he would give them to me was if I told him why I needed them. Of all the people that were here I found Dale to be one of the most trustworthy. Telling him what Lori and I had talked about, he willingly gave me the hammer and nails, telling me to be careful, reiterating that Shane would not be happy about it. I told him what I told Lori. I don't answer to him and he doesn't answer to me. We were leaders of separate groups. We just had to find a way to coexist without getting in each others way all the time. I wanted to stay. I wanted all of us to stay together but I couldn't just abandon what I'd been working so hard to protect.

"Here." Lori said handing me a bucket of white paint.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Dale has everything." She smiled.

"Yes he does." I smiled back. "I think I like him more and more everyday."

"What are you two doing?" Amy's voice came from behind us.

"Amy." I said whipping around to face her.

"I thought Shane said 'no' about the sign." She frowned.

"He did." I replied. "Please don't say anything."

"What are you doing then?" She asked.

"I'm not from your group. And I'm sorry but I don't answer to him." I told her.

"Okay, then. How can I help?" She asked.

"Seriously?" I asked. She was a very sweet girl. I liked her a lot. But I didn't want to get her into trouble.

"Andrea's not back yet and I'm going crazy worrying about her. Shane isn't going to let us do anything so I might as well help you."

"I don't want either of you getting yourselves into trouble because of me, okay?" I told them seriously.

"We won't." Lori replied. "We're just doing what's right."

"Okay then." I smiled and we started to paint our warning onto the sign.

Once we were done the majority of the day had already passed, making us leave the sign in the woods and return to camp. Lori went to find Carl while Amy and I started to boil water for dinner. Echo trotted up to me, lying at my feet. Greeting her with a smile, kiss, and a hug, it crossed my mind that I may treat her too much like a child. Not caring, I hugged her again before turning back to the water. We were trying to save as much of the good food as we could but some we couldn't save forever. There were a couple large cans of chicken that were only good for a couple more weeks. Tonight we'd use one of them, along with a few cans of veg-all. It wouldn't be the best thing we'd eaten, but it would be a huge step up to Shane's group. I was no cook, but Amy and I were managing alright.

"Tell me more about your sister." I said to Amy as we waited.

"She's old." She said and laughed.

"How nice of you." I laughed with her.

"No. She's amazing." She smiled, a wistful look crossing her face. "She's twelve years older then me. Was never really around much when I was growing up. Then we decided to go on a road trip. She's been perfect since then. When the world came to an end she kept me safe and has become the sister I've always wanted."

"How long has she been gone?" I asked.

"They left just before you showed up. A whole group of them. Supply runs are dangerous. The longer it takes for them to get back the more worried I get." She told me.

"I'm sure she's okay." I said reassuringly.

"She went with a good group." She nodded. "Though our only doctor went with her."

"You actually found a doctor in all this hell?" I asked, shocked.

"Yep." She smiled. "He's fantastic. Not hard on the eyes either."

"A hot doctor. I'm impressed." I smiled at her.

"Too bad he's not available." She smirked. "I'd totally go for him. Even if he's a bit older then me."

"Hell, I'm a bit older then you." I mumbled. "He brought his girlfriend with him?"

"No. He lost his wife a while back. Hasn't even thought of getting over her yet." She replied.

"I can understand that." I told her sadly.

"Yeah, it sucks. I'm happy I was single at the time. I don't think I could stand losing someone I cared so much about." She said sadly.

"It's hard. I've lost my entire family." I told her. "Everyone…"

"I'm sorry." She said putting her hand on my arm.

"It's okay." I smiled at her. "I'm surviving."

"What the hell's for dinner?" Daryl asked as he walked by with his crossbow. He was younger then most of the adults, older then Amy. He wasn't hard on the eyes but when he opened his mouth it was a whole other story. "I gotta go get us some meat."

"We're using some of the chicken tonight." I told him.

"Chicken?" He said as if it was some sort of joke. "I said meat."

"It is meat." I said standing up, Echo darting up next to me, lowering her head as she eyed the man. "If you don't like it then go hunting."

"Maybe I will." He shot at me.

"I wish you would. Venison sounds amazing." I smiled at him.

"Yeah, why don't you come with me, baby?" He said and kissed the air with a wink.

"He's such an ass." I said to Amy as I sat back down. Echo had started to growl so I quickly rubbed her neck, hushing her as I pulled her against me.

"You haven't met his brother yet." She replied.

"He went with the others?"

"Yup. He's a hunter and is strong so they brought him along to help keep everyone safe."

"Nothing like trying to tame a redneck asshole." I smiled at her.

"It'll never happen." She smiled back.

Soon everyone was starting to filter back to their tents. The food was starting to cook and by the looks of those who were gathering, it smelled amazing to them. We had been eating meat on a regular basis back home so this wasn't as much of a treat to us.

"Smells good." Shane smiled when he joined us.

"Hey." Conner said sitting next to me.

"Hey." I smiled at him.

"It does smell good." He said looking in the pot.

"Maybe I'll make it my specialty." I winked at him.

As soon as it was heated up and ready to go, I took charge of making sure everyone got their fair share. Everyone was hungry and everyone ate like it'd been days since they've seen so much of it. Everyone sat around their fires, the majority around ours, talking and laughing as they filled their stomachs.

"You don't have very much." Amy noticed when I sat next to her, placing a bowl of kibble in front of my dog.

"Don't worry about me." I smiled at her.

"Caroline, you can't starve just to give us more." She said softly.

"I know." I replied. "But I'm good. It's only been a few days. A week from now I'll be just as selfish about my portion as everyone else." I told her and smiled.

"You better." She smiled back.

Not feeling like talking much, I listened as everyone talked amongst themselves. My group had fit in nicely but we still had our little clicks. Lex and Finn were basically inseparable now. Tym and Dale had become good friends, able to talk about a wider range of topics then the rest of us could. My only concern was with the way Rebecca was looking at Daryl. He was not a nice man. He was a cocky pain in the ass. If he hurt her then we'd have a problem and I didn't want to cause trouble between the groups. But from the way other others talked about him and treated him, I didn't think that would be a problem.

"How was your day?" Conner asked as we got ready for bed in the tent.

"It was good." I smiled at him. "Spent time with Lori and Amy. I really like them."

"That's good." He smiled as he took his shirt off, replacing it with a clean one for sleeping.

"And your time with Shane?" I asked as I did the same, happily getting into comfier clothes.

"Real good." He replied. "We've been talking a lot about our groups. He's been showing me how he handles things around here."

"And?" I asked curiously.

"And he's doing everything he can to keep everyone safe. So far he's been doing a good job." He told me.

"Yes he has. Though we have different views on a few things." I told him.

"Yeah, about that." He said and paused. "He expects you to be the one to back down. Since we're coming into his group he expects you to listen to him."

"Then he's dreaming." I frowned at him. "I've done just fine with all of you. If anything I want it to be more of a partnership. But I'm not going to bow down to him."

"Don't be like that." He frowned back.

"Be like what?" I asked as I squatted in front of Echo, taking her head in my hands. "Like I have a brain and an opinion of my own?"

"I just don't want you to make waves and make it worse for our group." He said as gently as he could.

"If he doesn't make me I won't." I replied, kissing the dog's head before I got into my sleeping bag.

"Always stubborn." He said doing the same.

"Always." I smiled at him before rolling over; turning the lamp Lori had given us off.

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**And there you have the next two chapters! I would love, love, LOVE some reviews! Most make my day and just push me to write that much more. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far! I can not say enough how much I love the show and have so enjoyed writing my own characters into it! I JUST LOVE IT!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: Nothing from The Walking Dead is mine. All characters you do not recognize are. You know...the usual.**

**A/N: So we're up to chapter seven! They've run into the group we know and love. I love The Walking Dead, am loving writing my own fanfiction about it, and would really really LOVE a few more reviews! If it's not too much trouble and if you are enjoying the stroy I would love Love LOVE to hear from you!**

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_**Chapter Seven**_

Sitting atop Nixon, I was enjoying the noises of the woods. Echo silently moving through the trees as she hunted squirrels. We weren't supposed to be wandering off from camp but I couldn't help myself. After a few more days my mind was becoming more and more full, trying to not 'make waves' as Conner had put it. But it was harder then I had anticipated. Keeping my opinions to myself was like pulling my hair out. Lori and Amy seemed to notice but neither of them was saying anything just yet. We hadn't touched the sign since we'd finished it and I'm sure they were wondering what I was planning on doing with it. I hated that I was considering backing down to Shane. I didn't want to be the one to give in. It wasn't fair. I had done nothing wrong and it felt wrong to back down. I have an opinion. Just because it wasn't his doesn't mean it's wrong. He knew that I was the leader of my group and to have him try and undermine me out of that position was something people just don't do. I wouldn't put anyone in danger. I wouldn't do anything that would put the group in jeopardy. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for anyone in either group. All I wanted was to be a part of it. Not someone who just sits back and listens to one man make all the decisions. Just because he's done an alright job so far doesn't mean that he couldn't use advice from someone else who has also been the one to make all the decisions. I had hoped that this little ride would help me clear my head, but it had only intensified the thoughts in my head. Since it wasn't doing anything for me I turned around and headed back to camp. I was getting closer when I slid from Nixon's bare back. He was already halter free so I didn't think twice about letting him make up his own mind, but he stayed with me. I ran my hand down his neck, letting it rest on his shoulder as we walked. I had just stopped in front of my tent, grabbing one of the horse treats I had taken from the barn when I'd taken the horses, and feeding it to Nixon, talking to him gently as I tossed pieces of dog biscuit to Echo.

"Where've you been?" Shane asked coming up to me.

"I was taking Nixon for a ride." I replied.

"You wandered away from the camp without telling anyone." He stated.

"I don't need your permission, Shane." I told him sternly.

"So you're just going to wander around half cocked?" He frowned.

"No, Shane, I am not." I said crossing my arms, Echo's hackles starting to rise. I pressed her head and neck against me as I attempted to keep her attitude in check. "But I'm not going to let you try and rule me either. You lead this group, I get that, but I lead mine. All you've done so far is attempt to get me to back down. To give in to what you think is best for everyone. Well, guess what? I have an opinion. I have a mind and an opinion on what's going on and what we should do." I told him. He opened him mouth to say something but I quickly put my hand up to stop him. "I am happy that we found you and your group. I am so thrilled about that, but I didn't stay because I wanted to give up my group to yours. I want a partnership with you, Shane. Together we can accomplish more then what we will if we continue to butt heads. It's not good for us and it's not good for the group. They can see far more then we think they can." He just looked at me. "Well?" I asked shrugging at him.

"Fine." He said but didn't sound happy about it.

"Fine?" I asked, unsure about it.

"I get what you're saying and you're right." He told me. "I'm sorry if you feel like I've been trying to overthrow the good you've done with your own people. You've done a very good job with them. They are fantastic people and have started pulling their own weight without even being asked to. I appreciate all that you've done and I will keep you in the loop and consider your opinion from now on." He said though it looked like he was reciting something.

Sighing, smiling at him, I asked, "Lori talked to you, didn't she?"

He didn't say anything for a moment before doing an odd nodding thing, "Maybe."

"Thank you." I smiled at him. "I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome." He said even though it still looked like he was in pain from the words coming out of his mouth.

"It's going to be hard for you isn't it?" I asked.

"Very." He nodded before a smile finally broke out on his face.

Laughing, I put my hand on his arm and nodded. "Still, thank you."

"Truce?" He asked.

"Truce." I said put my arm around him. "You're whipped."

He shoved me as we started walking back to the others. Sitting next to Lori, I grinned at her.

"He talked to you?" She asked.

"He did. Thank you." I smiled at her. "I appreciate it, even though it wasn't necessary."

"Yes it was." She told me. "He was being unfair. You have every right to have a say. Just because we all say 'how high' when Shane says 'jump' doesn't mean you and yours have to."

"She's right." Amy said sitting on my other side.

"It's kinda crazy." I smiled at them. "I didn't expect any of this. We came across all of you and I thought that I'd have to keep a line in the sand. My group. Your group. But I really like you guys. I love the people I came with, but I really like you guys."

"You're not bad yourself." Lori said putting an arm around me.

"Are we supposed to hug now or something?" Amy asked.

Lori and I just looked at her before we all started laughing. We were quieting down when Lex dropped onto the group in front of me.

"Hey." I grinned at her. "Where you been?"

"I've been with Finn." She grinned back. "Which is what brings me to you."

"What can I do for you?" I asked her. "Is something wrong?"

"No." She said growing serious. "I need to kick Becca out of my tent."

My smile faded as I realized where this was going. "Lex, you can't do that. Where would she go? She's not going to want to stay with Tym."

"I know." She said nodding. "But…Finn and I…we'd like to…you know…" She said fumbling over her words.

"I get it, Lex. You don't have to try and get it out." I said taking her hands in mine. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"No." She said with a look of concern.

"Come on then." I said standing up, helping her up as well. "Let's go have a talk with her."

About ten minutes later I was back on the log with Lori and Amy.

"That was fast." Amy told me.

"It went very well." I frowned.

"And that's bad?" Amy asked.

"Well…Becca was excited because she can now go stay in someone else's tent and I don't like who that someone is." I told her quietly.

"Daryl." Lori stated with a slight frown on her face. I nodded. "Yeah, she shouldn't want him."

"She's lonely." Amy said sadly.

"I know." I nodded. "But I don't want to see her get hurt by some asshole with a god complex."

"She's got you watching out for her. She'll be alright." Lori said gently rubbing my back.

There was a moment of silence before Amy added, "And just think, Lex and Finn are probably getting it on right now."

Lori and I looked at her, speechless, before we started laughing again. It was almost too much fun. But it ended abruptly when a strange noise caught our ears. We all stood and went to the top of the hill leading to and from camp. The noise was getting louder.

"Is that a car alarm?" I frowned as we all stopped to listen.

"That's what it sounds like to me." Dale said from on top of his RV, binoculars in his hands.

"Can you see anything?" I asked him.

"No, not yet." He replied.

"Maybe it's them." Amy said hopefully.

"I hope so, sweetie." I said putting my arm around her.

It was only a few minutes later when a red sports car came to a screeching halt at the top and a cute Chinese man got out of the car. He looked very excited about the car and with the speed at which he had approached on. Shane, however, was anything but impressed. The noise immediately put everyone on edge. If there were any walkers in the vicinity then they would be attracted to the sound and would come as fast as their diseased bodies would let them.

"What were you thinking?" Shane asked him.

"No walkers followed." He told him.

"How do you know?" Shane shot at him.

"Listen, the sound would bounce off the sides. It'd be pretty hard to pinpoint where it's coming from." Dale said in the man's defense.

"Is Andrea okay?" Amy said rushing to him. "Is she okay?'

"Where are the others?" Another group member asked.

"Yes, she's fine." He told her. "They're coming."

Taking a step back, I squatted, petting Echo as I let the reunion unfold without the new people getting in the way. Though the next thing I knew, the Chinese man was standing next to me.

"So, who are you?" He asked.

"Caroline." I smiled holding my hand out to him.

"Glenn." He smiled shaking my hand. "Nice to know we're not the only ones picking up strays. No offense dog." He said patting Echo's head.

"Her name is Echo." I smiled at him, straightening up.

"She's beautiful." He smiled. "What breed is she?"

"A borzoi." I told him.

"How did you end up with a dog like her?"

"I bred them and showed them. I owned a whole kennel." I smiled at him. "All different colors and everything. It was like a hotel for dogs. I built it from the ground up."

"What happened?" He asked.

"The world ended." I told him. "There was nothing I could do but let them out with the little time I had to do it. My husband wanted us to leave immediately but I couldn't leave without Echo. I had a few others with me as well but they'd been caught by walkers or ran off along the way. Echo was my favorite though. She's been my best friend since she was born. There's just something about her."

"She's stuck with you this long. That makes her a pretty good friend in my book." Glenn smiled as he stroked her.

"Not to mention she is really good at smelling out walkers and letting us know if any are close." I told him matter-of-factly.

"Can I have one?" He grinned.

I laughed, nodded at him. There was something about him I loved right off the bat. He was a good guy. He must be if he brought someone back with them. "So…you found someone?" I asked as my stomach turned, my mind still hoping for the best.

"Yeah, a deputy from the city. I saved his sorry ass." He replied.

"Good for you." I smiled the feeling disappearing. "We stumbled across the camp when we evacuated our home."

"How many of you are there?" He asked.

"Six."

"Wow. That's a pretty big number these days." He said with raised brows.

"Yeah, we're lucky."

"Aren't we all?" He said sadly as we watched a truck pull up and the remainder of the group unloaded.

Carl, Lori's son, stood by her side with a hopeful look. I knew that her husband had died when all hell broke loose. Carl still hoped that his father would somehow appear before him alive and well. I was just like him. I felt the same way about Chris. Just a second ago I felt that hope rush through me even though I knew he wasn't coming back. But how I wished it. How I wished that he would just walk in the door, take me into his arms, and kiss me till my knees go weak. The wish of anyone who lost someone they loved. Just to see them again. Just like you remember them. Just for a moment.

"You okay?" Glenn asked me.

I didn't realize the tears until he said something. Wiping them away I smiled at him, "Yeah, sorry, just got lost in thought for a moment."

"You lost someone?" He asked. I simply nodded at him. "Your husband?" I nodded again. "What happened?"

"It was a supply run. We ran into a large group of walkers. He was protecting me. Protecting our group. I didn't see it happen. But my friend Conner told me that there was no saving him." I explained and shrugged.

"I'm sorry." He told me sadly.

"Yeah, well, I can't stay depressed forever." I smiled at him. "If I did you might as well just feed me to a walker."

"Somehow that doesn't seem like the nice thing to do to someone I just met." He smirked at me.

I nodded; smiling as I watched Amy reunite with her sister Andrea, smiling at the happy moment where tears were shared and worried scolding was given. A moment later I felt hands on my shoulders and lips against my hair. Leaning against Conner, I smiled up at him. The expression on his face told me that he was thinking the same as me. It almost hurt more to see the others reunited with there loved ones then it was knowing what I'd lost. At least they had time with their loved ones. They had time to fix the mistakes that might have been made. To share those moments of pure happiness. I wanted that. It's all I wanted. One more look. One more touch. Just…one more.

"Where's Chris?" Amy said stepping up to Glenn.

"Chris?" I asked, a pit falling in my stomach. "Chris who?"

"He didn't come back with you." Amy continued.

"He stayed behind." Glenn told her.

"Why?" She frowned.

"Chris who?" I asked again. "The doctor?"

"Doctor?" Glenn said looking at me. "If you think vets are doctors."

"Vets?" I asked as I felt myself start to shake.

"You know veterinarians? That's what he is." He told me.

"A vet?" I said running my fingers through my hair.

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked me.

I didn't answer. Instead I rushed off, running to my tent at a sprint. Tripping over the lip of the tent, I fell onto the mattress I shared with Conner, fumbling through all of my things. I tried to find my picture of him. There was one of the two of us and Echo that I kept with me. It was still framed. I needed it now. I needed to know if it was him.

"Caroline…" Conner said appearing in the doorway.

"Where's my picture?" I shot at him.

"Caroline…just stop." He told me sadly.

"It could be Chris." I shot back at him. "_My_ Chris."

"Don't do this to yourself." He said grabbing me by my arms.

"What are you doing?" I frowned at him.

"He's gone." He told me with tears in his eyes.

For a moment I watched Echo, pacing outside the tent. Looking up at Conner I told him, "Maybe not." Pulling away from him I finally found the picture. "Maybe not." I repeated and ran from the tent, finding Amy as soon as I could. "Is this him?" I asked shoving the picture into her hands. "Is this Chris?" She took the picture, looking at it for only a few seconds before her head shot up. "It's him…isn't it?" I said taking in her expression.

"You're his wife." She said airily as she took in my face.

The breath I had been holding rushed out of me. "He's alive." I said as tears ran freely down my cheeks.

"Holy shit." Glenn said looking at me.

"Where is he?" I said turning to him. "Where is my husband?"

"He stayed behind." Glenn said sadly.

"What do you mean he stayed behind?" Amy asked.

"There was trouble with Merle." He replied.

"What does that have to do with Chris?" I asked.

"Merle was a threat. He was handcuffed to a pipe on the roof of a building. We lost the key. He's stuck there. Chris stayed behind to stay with him." Glenn explained.

"Why would he do that? He hates Merle." Amy frowned.

"He hates leaving a man behind even more." I told her.

"She's right." Glenn said. "He wouldn't leave him."

It was then that I realized the scene that was playing behind us. Lori's husband, Rick, had been the one Glenn saved in the city. Her family had been reunited. For a moment my tears were for her. Pure joy that her husband was alive and well. Though I noticed the look she gave Shane. He was the one who had told her that her husband was dead. I knew exactly how she felt. Turning, I looked Conner in the eye.

"You told me he was dead." I stated quietly.

"Caroline…" He started.

"You told me that you saw him die." I told him as tears ran down my cheeks.

"I did." He said with a confused look on his face. "He disappeared in a group of walkers. There was no getting out of it. I couldn't reach him and he disappeared before my eyes. There is no way that he could have survived that."

"But he did!" I yelled at him. "You told me that my husband was dead. I mourned him. I've been grieving for him ever since and that's because you told me that he was dead. _Dead_! And now I come to find that he's alive." I finished and turned on Amy. "You seem to know him. Why didn't he come home? Why didn't he come back?"

"He thought you were dead." She told me. "He heard screaming and saw other members of the group get killed. He said he tried to find you after but there was nothing."

"We were where we always were." I told her breathlessly. "Why wouldn't he have come home?"

"We got stranded for several days after that." Conner told me. "Remember?"

"What?" I frowned at him.

"You were pretty out of it. Peter took care of you. The walkers were so thick it took almost a week before we could return home. If he did go back and wait…he wouldn't wait too long before moving on. He wouldn't stay where your memory lives." Conner explained.

"What happened?" Amy asked.

"We were on a supply run." I told her. "One of our group members, Angie, had run into a few walkers. She panicked and started firing at them." I could feel myself start to drift back to that day. "Chris and I were together but he took off when he heard the shots. I was only a few paces behind him when we ran into even more walkers. We fought against them. There was screaming. I lost sight of him. Before I knew it the scene became chaotic and Peter grabbed me, pulling me away from the fight." I frowned as I tried to hold back the tears that were brimming in my eyes. "I told him that I had to find Chris but he told me that Conner was with him." I said and looked at Conner. "When he finally rejoined us he said that Angie, Kevin, Brian, and Dana were dead. When I asked him about Chris he gave me a sad look before telling me that he too was dead." I finished. My eyes still on Conner.

"I am so sorry." Amy told me. "He'll be okay."

"I was devastated." I said still looking at Conner. "You saw me grieve for him. You saw how low I got. I thought my husband was dead. My _husband_."

"I'm sorry." He told me.

"I can't even look at you right now." I frowned and walked away from him, breaking into a run, needing to get as far away from him as fast as I could.

Fleeing into the woods, I ran until I didn't think anyone would be able to hear me. Falling to my knees I started to sob, horrible sounds coming from my mouth as I sobbed and sobbed. I should be happy. Chris was alive. He was still out there but he was alive. Part of me was ecstatic for that. But at the moment I was only remembering the pain. The pain I felt when I thought my husband was dead and now the sting of betrayal. There was something in Conner's eyes telling me that he knew. He knew that there was a chance that Chris was alive and he never told me. He let me believe that I was a widow.

"There you are." I heard Lori's voice behind me.

"Hi." I said with a raspy voice. I sat leaning against a tree, Echo lying against my side, the sun low on the horizon.

"They're about to get a search team together to find you." She said sitting next to me.

"He's alive." I told her.

"I heard." She replied. "Amy filled me in on what's going on." I nodded at her. "So what are you doing out here?"

"Wrapping my head around things." I told her. "He's alive and I couldn't be more thrilled, but he's still out there. He's still in danger. What if he dies now that they left him behind? To find out that he's alive and then find him dead would kill me. I don't think I could handle that."

"He'll be okay." She said reassuringly as she took my hand.

"I'm going to go after him. I just need to know where to look." I said matter-of-factly.

"Something tells me you won't be going alone." She said with a sad tone.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Rick feels guilty about leaving them. And if I know my husband then he's going to do the right thing." She told me.

"He's going to go after them." I stated, looking at her.

"Probably." She nodded.

"I'm happy you have your husband back." I told her forcing a smile.

"I'm glad yours isn't dead." She said doing the same. "Conner is pretty broken up though."

"Don't say his name." I said disdainfully. "He lied to me."

"I know." She said. "I'm on your side. One hundred percent. Shane lied to me."

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked.

"Love our husbands." She replied. "Did you and Conner ever sleep together?"

"No." I said shaking my head. "He kissed me once. Just once and I never reciprocated it. But it was heading down that road." Scoffing, I shook my head, "Now the thought makes me sick."

"I slept with Shane." Lori told me sadly. "We've had a secret relationship for a while now."

"You didn't do anything wrong." I told her. "You thought Rick was dead. What were you supposed to do?"

"I don't know." She said and shrugged. "Be more like you. Mourn him longer. But I got lonely and Shane was there."

"Conner's been there through everything. He became my best friend after Chris died. And now to find out that he lied to me…" I said and looked at her. "It hurts."

"I know. I feel the same way." She said and rested her head on my shoulder.

Doing the same, we both cried. Cried at the relief to know that our husbands were alive and at the pain of the betrayal that both of us felt. It was crazy that we were both in the exact same position. The only difference was that hers was here and safe while mine was on a rooftop somewhere in the city, walkers all around, and with a man most would leave for dead. Life just got a lot more complicated.

When I got back to camp, I went to my tent, half expecting to see Conner sitting in it waiting for me. Instead, I found all of his things gone. Not a single thing was left. He had erased himself from the tent. I was grateful for that. If it had been there it'd probably be in the fire right now. Sitting on the mattress I imagined having Chris inside of it with me. Having him back would be a dream come true. The tears hit me again, hot and fast. Curling up in the center of the mattress, I cried myself to sleep, holding Echo against me, a sleep full of dreams of Chris. Even the wolves came back to visit.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: The usual**

**A/N: Ah! A review! Thank you OmgitsBlondie! I can be happy now. It is MUCH appreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now on with the story. =]**

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_**Chapter Eight**_

"What are you doing?" Conner asked grabbing my arm.

"Don't touch me." I said pulling away from him.

"I'm not going to let you go." He told me.

"You don't have a choice." I shot at him. "Walk away from me, Conner, or I swear to God I will put you on the ground right now."

"Caroline, I am not going to let you go get yourself killed." He said standing his ground.

"You lost any say you've ever had with me the moment I found out that Chris is alive." I told him angrily.

"I didn't know!" He yelled at me. He stopped and waited for the eyes he had just drawn to us to look away before he continued. "I thought he was dead. I did. I would have bet my life on it. I thought he was dead. What more do you want me to say?"

"There was a doubt. I can see it in your face." I said coldly. "I can tell that there is something you're not telling me. You aren't sure anymore. You keep telling yourself that he was dead and that that is truly what you believe but I can see through it. You knew there was a chance and you simply decided not to tell me."

"You would have gone after him." He stated.

"Yes." I agreed.

"And you would have gotten yourself killed in the process. There were too many walkers and you would have died if you had gone after him." He argued.

"I could have done something, anything, to find him. I could have found my husband and then he'd be here with me." I told him sadly. "I have a chance to get him back. I'm going to take that chance no matter what it costs me."

"And what about what it's going to cost me?" He asked. "As selfish as it sounds, think about that. I've lost everyone I've ever cared about. All I have left is you. If you find Chris and get the both of you back here safely then I'll be gaining something but if you go and you both die then I'll have lost everything. Everything will be gone." He finished with a depressed look on his face.

"Everything is already gone, Conner." I frowned at him. "I will never see you the same way. I will never look at you and see my best friend again. I will never care about you as much as I did before. I could've loved you, Conner. I could have." I said feeling slightly defeated. "Part of me thinks that's what you wanted. There've been moments since childhood where I catch you looking at me and I know that it's not in a plutonic sort of way. After Chris and then after Peter I thought you were all I had left too. That made us stronger but now this happens and now I feel sick every time I look at you." I told him coldly. "I hate you."

I kept my eyes on his until he finally turned and walked away from me. I was alone for only a moment more before Lori was at my side. She put her hand on my back, gently rubbing it, her eyes watching the direction Conner had gone.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"No." I said shaking my head as I double checked the clip in my gun before putting it in the back of my pants. I already had another in the front and my knife attached to my thigh. I'd been ready for a while but I kept feeling the need to check and recheck everything. There were to be no mistakes today. Not if it meant life or death for Chris. "I need to find him."

"You will." She said reassuringly. "But I need to ask you for a favor."

Smiling, I took her hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. "I'll look out for him. I wont let anything bad happen to him."

"Thank you." She said nodding at me. "I just can't imagine losing him again."

"Don't worry." I smiled. "By tonight both of us will be in the arms of our husbands."

"I hope so." She smiled back.

"I have a favor to ask of you too." I told her. "I need you to look after Echo for me."

"Okay." She said as she stroked the dogs head. "I won't let anything happen to her."

"Thank you." I nodded. "I really do appreciate it." She smiled and nodded at me. Sighing, I squatted in front of my dog. "Be good." I told her. "Don't do anything you shouldn't and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Hurry back." Lori told me.

"I will." I said and kissed Echo's head before standing. "Stay."

Taking a deep breath, I gave a quick goodbye to my group before I joined Rick and the group of others that were going to be joining us on our latest venture.

"Are you ready?" Rick asked.

"More then ready." I smiled at him.

"We'll find him." He smiled back.

"I hope so." I replied sadly.

Soon we were loaded and on the move. Daryl was with us, determined to find his brother Merle. He was just as eager as I was to get his loved one back. I was sitting on the edge of my seat at the thought of getting my husband back. Imagining seeing his face again was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Glenn was sitting next to me, taking my hand when he noticed the emotions that kept crossing my face. I still couldn't believe that I'd stumbled across such a great group of people. I was grateful to all of them.

"So what's first?" I asked.

"Which is closer?" Rick asked Glenn. "You know the terrain better then any of us."

"Chris and Merle are closest. Then we'll get the guns." Glenn told him.

"All right then." Rick said and we all broke into a run as we moved to make quick of this.

"We're gonna find him and he's going to be okay." Glenn told me as I became more and more anxious. Holding my hand out to him, he took it, squeezing it tightly. "I promise."

"Thank you." I told him, letting his hand go as we picked up our pace.

When we got to the rooftop, the padlock was cut and we all rushed out onto the roof. Daryl and I were the first through the door and the first to be disappointed. Daryl's agonized yell broke the silence that had been the moment when the door opened. My own breathing was the only thing I heard as I fell to my knees. He wasn't here. The only thing that proved anyone was up here was a pile of blood and a severed hand. Merle had cut off his own hand or Chris had done it for him. Either way, neither of them were here.

"He's not here." I said turning to Rick.

He didn't say anything. He simply pulled me into his chest. For a moment he just held me. Silent tears fell down my cheeks. Where was he? Letting Rick go, I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping it as panic started to win over.

"Hey, hey, hey." Glenn said taking my hands from my head, placing his where they had been. "He'll be okay. I promise you that he'll be okay. We are going to find him."

"But he's not here." I repeated and looked at him, putting my hands on his forearms.

"We will find him." He repeated. "Say it."

For a moment I just looked at him, taking a deep breath. "We'll find him." I finally pushed out.

"Okay." He said and let me go. "You can't give up when you've come this far to find him."

"You're right." I said and looked at Daryl who was examining the roof.

I turned to the roof doing the same, following the blood trail from his brother. A mass amount of thoughts moved through my head. Taking deep breaths I put my thoughts back in order and paid closer attention to what I was looking at. One thing stood out to me.

"If there is a blood trail then that means Chris didn't amputate his hand." I told them.

"And how the hell do you know that?" Daryl shot at me.

"Because I know what he would do." I shot back at him. "I've known him for nearly as long as I can remember. I went through his entire schooling with him. I probably know as much about vet med as he does. I know what he would do. He's better then what I see here. He would have made sure he lost little to no blood. Even if he had little to no supplies. There's too much blood for Chris to have done it. Besides, he always carries a suture kit." I explained.

"Whatever." Daryl growled at me. "We need to keep moving."

"You go. I'm staying here for the moment." I told him as my eyes moved over the roof.

"I'm not leaving you up here alone." Rick told me.

"I'm going to find him, Rick." I said looking at him. "He must have left the roof before Merle cut off his hand. He probably went to find something to help him with."

"You have no idea which way he went." Rick stated.

"I'll figure it out." I frowned at him.

"There's a broken window over here." Daryl said from across the roof.

"He probably went that way." Rick tried to convince me.

"You don't know that. So, will you please just give me a second?" I frowned harder.

Turning again, I examined the roof. There was something I was missing. Something that was there but was too subtle for me to spot.

"Look." T-Dog, a nice black man, said pointing to the building across from us.

It was just shorter then the one we were on but the distance between them was sizable. "You son of a bitch…you didn't…" I said as I climbed onto the ledge to get a better view.

"Caroline." Rick said coming to my side, holding out his hand to me.

"I'm just looking." I told him. "There's blood over there."

"What?" He asked stepping up next to me.

"Right there." I said pointing. "It's a smear. He frickin' jumped from this roof to that one. He misjudged the distance and skidded his palm, maybe his arm, along the concrete as he braced himself."

"That's bullshit. You don't know that that's what happened." Daryl said angrily.

"Maybe not. But, like I said, you go ahead and leave. I'm tracking down my husband." I told him.

"Caroline, no." Glenn said gripping my arm.

"It's okay." I told him. "You're the one who told me I was going to find him. So let me." He sighed his defeat and stepped away from me.

Looking at Rick, I stepped back, moving as far back as I could. Bending my knees, I stared at the length of roof before me, building myself up to launch myself across to the next one. I was just about to move when Rick stepped in front of me.

"Move." I told him.

"No." He frowned. "I made a promise to take care of you."

"To who? Conner?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "I also made a promise to Lori to take care of you." I told him. "But I need to find my husband. He's alive and I need to find him." Sighing, he stepped aside. "Thank you." I told him. "I'll find you. I promise. If I can't we'll head back to camp. Either way, I'll be seeing you again."

"I'll kill you if you don't." He said and pulled me into a hug.

"I promise." I whispered in his ear.

"Lori will kill me if I don't come back with you."

Laughing, I nodded at him. "I love your wife. It's kind of amazing how fast I've attached myself to your family. And Amy. And Dale. And you." I grinned at Glenn. "I'll be coming home." I smiled at Rick.

"Good." He said and placed a kiss against my forehead.

"I'll be okay." I told him. "I know how to take care myself."

"So I've heard." He smiled.

"Can we just go?!" Daryl yelled at him.

"Go." I told Rick. "I'll be in touch."

"Okay." He said and ran his hand down my hair. "Run hard. Run fast. Find him. Don't get killed."

"Done." I smiled.

"Please be careful." Glenn said stepping up to me.

"I promise, I promise, I promise." I told him gently, putting my arms around his neck.

"Bring him home." He smiled as he let me go.

"Oh, I will." I grinned back.

He nodded before stepping away from me. I watched them head across the roof, disappearing with the others, before I started to get back into position. If I didn't jump far enough this was going to be a very short rescue operation. Bracing myself, I started to run, pumping my legs as fast and as hard as they would go. When I reached the ledge, I leapt up onto it before launching myself across the gap between buildings. There was the briefest moment where I thought it was enough. Then I realized that I was going to be just short. Quickly shifting my weight, I landed hard on the edge of the roof, my left knee slamming onto it, my fingertips barely gripping the edge. Freezing for just a moment to make sure I had really made it, I pulled myself over the edge, limping away from it.

"Holy shit." I said and hunched over. When the throbbing dulled and I managed to catch my breath, I looked at the blood on the roof. "Apparently you're a better jumper then me." I said as I looked at it. He didn't land any better then me but at least he made it past the ledge.

Moving on, I noticed occasional foot prints in the dirt on the roof, following them. They were too fresh to be anything other then him. Moving back and forth across the roof I looked for any sign of him. I had to scale three more buildings before I managed to find anything more substantial to go on. Looking over the edge there were small groups of walkers here and there but there were more alleys clear in this part of the city. Going down a fire escape, looking down both sides of the alley, I moved to the left, hoping my guess would lead me to him. Moving in and out of the buildings, I searched for my husband. Finding, what looked like, some sort of hardware store, it had been raided, but there was something on the counter that looked familiar. Moving to it, I noticed the paper folded up like a frog. He used to leave them randomly for me. He had for years. It was just a simple gesture to make us think of each other, knowing that the other would be thinking the same thing. I don't know why he had done it, especially if he thought me dead, but he did. Smiling, I picked it up, staring at it. He had been here. I was on the right path.

"I'm coming, baby." I smiled and moved on.

Moving down an alley, I climbed up onto a dumpster and looked around. The ladder to the fire escape was stuck halfway up. Standing, I sighed before launching myself at it, gripping the first bar. Hanging there a moment before pulling myself up to the second bar, I moved to the third and then the fourth before I managed to get my foot up, climbing up to the roof. My knee still throbbing, causing me to limp, skipping a few times to alleviate some of the pain. There were walkers spread out around the roof. Checking all sides of it, I scoured the area of any other signs of Chris. The door to the stairway was open, a few walkers dead around the door. They'd come in that way. Judging by the number of dead, he must have been overrun by them but…they were all dead. What happened? What if he was bitten? Or eaten by the ones that had followed him?

"There's not enough blood for that." I told myself, my mind racing. "Where are you?" I asked myself as I moved back and forth. Then I noticed blood on the far side, rushing over to it, I looked over the edge. Below me was another dumpster. There was a large indent in the middle of it, walker bodies and parts spread up and down the alley. "Shit." I said staring at it, my mind moving to places it shouldn't.

Quickly finding the nearest way down, I rushed to the dumpster. There was blood in the indentation. Looking at the ground there was more in front of it. I hadn't been looking more then an hour or so but panic was already starting to set in. Looking at all the gore surrounding it, it was as if the dumpster was the focal point for some explosion that happened. For a moment I let it take me over. Gripping my hair before running my fingers through it, I took a deep breath to steady me, tears blurring my vision. Taking another deep breath to clear my mind and help me push back the tears, something dawned on me. Staring at the dumpster, I rushed to either end of the alley, not finding any more blood trails. Walking back to it, I took a series of deep breaths before I reached a shaky hand out and gripped the lid. Slowly lifting it, being careful not to make a sound as I leaned it against the wall. Shutting my eyes for just a second, I slowly lifted my head to look inside of it. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes as I beheld my husband, lying on a bed of garbage. Covering my mouth as I tried to gain control of myself, I quickly climbed into the dumpster.

"Chris." I said taking his head in my hands. "Christian. Baby, open your eyes."

The tears were streaming down my cheeks, some dripping onto his dirty shirt. His head looked to be bleeding, as well as other cuts and bruises covering his visible skin. More tears fell as I ran my fingers through his dirty blond hair, staring at his thick eyelashes, waiting for him to open his eyes.

"I'm right here, baby." I told him, putting my forehead against his. "I found you and I'm never leaving you again."

"Linny?" He whispered.

"Christian." I said looking at him. "Baby, can you hear me?" He furrowed his brows, tears running from the corners of his eyes, giving me a subtle nod. "I thought you were dead." I told him. He nodded again. "I've been so…so scared." I told him as my tears started to win out.

"Linny." He said again as he slowly opened his eyes.

Smiling, I looked into his deep blue eyes and felt an overwhelming happiness. "Hi."

"Is it really you?" He asked lifting his hand to my cheek, gently running the back of his fingers across my cheekbone.

"Yeah." I nodded putting my hand in his. "I'm having a hard time believing it's you. I've thought you were dead for a long time."

"You too." He frowned as more tears slid down his temples. "I love you." He whispered as his fingers ran across my cheekbone again.

"I love you." I told him. "I love you so much. Love is too small a word for how I feel about you."

He grinned and gave a small laugh. "I've been telling you that for years."

Smiling, I leaned down, gently putting my lips against his, kissing him lightly. He put his hand in my hair, keeping my face in place as he kissed me deeply. His kiss felt weak. He was weak. I didn't know how extensive his injuries were but he was alive. That was all that mattered right now.

"It was the last thing you said to me." I whispered as I gently ran my fingers through his hair. "You were supposed to come back and you didn't."

"I'm sorry." He frowned at me.

"I am too."

For a moment we just looked at each other. Simply content with being with each other. No matter where we were.

"I've gotta get you out of here." I smiled at him, finally breaking free from the trance that seeing him had put me in.

"I'm not sure I can." He told me.

"How badly do you hurt? What happened?" I frowned at him.

"I was trying to find a way to save a man handcuffed on a roof." He told me.

"Why would you do that?" I asked. "From what I understand Merle is a lousy excuse for a human being."

"How do you know Merle?" He frowned.

"We ran across the people you've been staying with. That's how I found out you were alive." I replied. "I didn't find out right away but once I did I left as soon as I could."

"You shouldn't have come back to the city." He told me.

"And you shouldn't have stayed behind for a man only his brother cares about." I retorted.

"I couldn't leave him behind even though, in the end, I did." He said sadly.

"He cut his hand off." I told him. "He cut it off and disappeared. We don't know where he is."

"That stupid son of a bitch." He said looking up into the sky.

"There was nothing you could do." I stated matter-of-factly. "But there was a window across the roof. Why didn't you get out that way?"

"I didn't want to lure any more walkers up to the roof. If they noticed I was there then they would have gone straight for him and he'd be dead. I made a decision." He explained.

"How did you fall?" I asked as I started to move my hands over his body.

"I panicked. There were walkers. I wasn't paying attention and then I fell, hiding from the walkers in here. After a few minutes I realized that I wouldn't be able to get out again." He told me, flinching as I pressed against his side.

"Baby, you're in pretty rough shape." I frowned sadly.

"I know." He sighed.

"What are you thinking? What can I do to help you?" I asked as a sense of panic started to seep into me. I needed to get him out of here.

"Just help me up." He said as he attempted to sit up, wincing with pain.

"Take it easy." I said as he put his arm across my shoulders, pressing my side against his to keep as much of his weight on me as I could. "Let's go slow."

Nodding, I managed to get him to his feet. Helping him get his leg over the edge, I jumped out of the dumpster before I helped him get his other leg over, making him sit on the edge. Trying to lower him as slowly as I could, he slid off and collapsed onto the ground, unable to hold his weight.

"Christian." I said as I dropped to my knees next to him. Running my hand down the back of his head, my eyes stayed on his face, seeing the amount of pain he was in. "Christian…we can't stay here."

"I know." He nodded and looked at me. "Help me up."

Putting his arm across my shoulders again, I hoisted him up onto his feet, going to the end of the alley. Peering around the corner, there were no walkers in site. It was slow moving but I managed to keep him on his feet and moving. We didn't say anything. His breathing was labored, telling me that he was in a lot of pain. I wished there was time to look him over better but my main goal was just to get him out of here. He needed to be okay and if that meant having to push all my worries aside then that's what I'd do.

Knowing that I wouldn't find what I needed where we were, I started moving to the residential area. The heart of the city was several blocks away. I knew that the majority of the walkers were there. I also knew that groups were wandering around. I needed to be ready for them. Needed to be ready in case we ran into any number of them. Chris wasn't going to be able to defend himself. I wasn't even sure he would be able to hold up a gun to shoot anything even if I asked him to.

Soon trees appeared and I knew that we had reached a part of the city that I would be able to find what I needed. Moving to a house in the mid-block of a large cluster of houses, I broke in, leaving Chris by the door as I searched it thoroughly before returning to him.

"Wait here." I told him as I ran my fingers through his hair. "I'm going to go find us a ride."

"I don't want you to go." He frowned. The concern in his voice was almost childlike. Devastating to my ears.

"I have to, baby." I said taking his head in my hands. "We need to get back to camp. We need to get you some help."

"I can't move anymore." He said shaking his head.

"That's why I'm going to go get us a car." I told him with furrowed brows. "I can't let anything else happen to you and I don't think I can take care of you on my own."

"I trust you." He told me. Tears slid down my cheeks as I subtly shook my head. "I always have and I always will."

"Then trust me when I tell you that I can't do this alone. We have supplies at camp. I can help you so much better there then I can here." I told him justifying.

"Okay." He said and smiled, putting his hand on my face. "Okay."

"I love you." I told him doing the same. "You are the most important thing in this world to me. The _most_ important thing and I love you. I _love_ you."

"I'm not going anywhere." He grinned and ran the back of his fingers across my cheekbone again. "Go get us a ride. I'll wait here. Don't try and say goodbye now. Not after everything."

"I'm not." I smiled at him. "But I believed you to be dead. I can't say 'I love you' enough. I have a lot to make up for."

"I thought you were dead too, you know." He told me sadly. "This place reminds me all too well of that day."

"Me too." I told him running my hand down his hair. "When we get out of here you'll have to tell me how you survived." I told him. "For now, here…" I said handing him a gun. "Stay safe. I love you."

"I love you too. I love you more then I can say. Love is too small a word for how I feel about you." He said and pulled me to him, kissing me passionately.

"I'll be right back." I told him. "I promise you I'll be back."

"You need to." He told me gravely, nodding at me. "You need to come back, okay?"

"I will."

"I need my wife. And you're here. You're here. I have you back. I can't go out there with you this time so I need you to be careful and I need you to come back." He said sadly.

"Christian, I'm right here." I said putting my hand over his heart. "I'm with you. I have always been with you and I always will be. You are my husband. I'm feeling everything you are." I smiled at him. "I have you back and I have _no_ intention of ever letting you go. Not ever. So, I will be right back."

"You better." He smiled back.

"Okay, I need to go before we lose more of the day or we attract something we shouldn't." I told him and stood. "I'm locking the door. I'll find my own way back in. I'll call out to you when it's me. If you hear something breaking in and I don't say anything then be prepared to shoot. Got it?"

"Got it." He smiled up at me. "You're so bossy."

"No. I'm protective." I smiled, squatting so I could kiss him once more before I left.

As soon as I was out the door, checking it to make sure it was locked, tears sprung to my eyes. I was scared. Scared for him. Scared for me. Scared that something would happen and I wouldn't be able to make it back to him. I needed him. I needed to be with him. It killed me not being able to stay with him. I made a promise to myself never to leave him again after this. Not for any reason. I never wanted to be parted from him again as long as I lived. I wouldn't be able to survive again if anything happened to him.

The thought alone put me into a run. I checked for a car that was unlocked and had keys. When I scoured the block and found nothing I doubled back, seeing a ford escape about halfway down. A good car. Reliable. The door was lucky enough to be unlocked but there were no keys. Running my fingers through my hair, gripping it as I thought, I rushed into the nearest garage finding a flathead screwdriver and a cordless drill with a small drill bit. Rushing back to the car, I placed the drill two-thirds in the key hole and turned it on. Moving it in and out the length of a key several times I hoped I had broken all the lock pins. Fumbling momentarily with the screwdriver I slipped it into the hole, turning it, hoping that it would turn the car on. Tears filled my eyes again as the car came to life. Driving it back to the house, I broke a window before rushing inside, calling out to Chris, seeing him exactly where I had left him. His head was leaning against the wall, his eyes shut. He hadn't budged when I came bursting into the room, telling him I was back.

"Chris?" I asked as I froze, my heart skipping a beat. "Christian?" I had been gone less then an hour. Kneeling next to him, I took his hand in mine, putting my other hand on his face. "Baby, please don't do this to me. Not now." I said with a quivering voice. "Christian." I said giving his shoulder a small jerk. "Christian!" I yelled jerking his shoulder harder. His eyes shot open and he coughed lightly before he focused on me. "Okay, that's good." I smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." He told me.

"Where?" I asked. "You need to help me understand how bad you're hurt."

"Everywhere." He whispered as his eyes glazed over.

"Don't!" I said grabbing his face. "Stay awake for me."

"I'm so tired." He replied weakly.

"I know. But I'm going to get you out of here." I said running my fingers through his hair.

"I don't know if I can get up." He told me.

"I'll help you." I said kissing him. "Come on. I want to have sex with you again so you have to get better." I grinned, trying to mask the agonizing fear that was coursing through my body.

He laughed, leading to a coughing fit. "For you I will." He smiled.

"Damn right you will." I told him and wrapped my arm around his waist, supporting most of his weight as I pulled him to his feet.

It seemed to be slower going and we were going only a fraction of the distance. There were no words for how worried I was at this point. He was sick. He was getting colder and whatever injures he had was either getting worse or was just showing itself. If he fell as hard as it looked then something may have broken and might have punctured something. I needed to know. I needed to know if he was really going to be okay or if I was going to have to say 'goodbye' to my husband for the second time. Getting him into the car, I buckled him in, partially reclining the seat to attempt to make him more comfortable.

"You gotta hang in there for me, baby." I told him as I triple checked the seatbelt.

"I will." He told me sweetly.

"You better." I said sadly. "I didn't find you just to lose you again. I need my husband."

"He's right here." He smiled, putting his hand on my chest over my heart. I smiled as he took my hand, placing a kiss against my palm.

"Then stay." I whispered to him.

"Forever."

Nodding, I kissed his forehead before I rushed around to the other side of the car. As soon as I was buckled in we were off. I tried not to speed to the point where the car felt unstable. It was a matter of urgency to get him back to camp. To get him to a bed and whatever pain meds or antibiotics that I could to make him well again. So when we were moving up the dirt road to camp it felt like we'd only been in the car for a few minutes. I skidded to a stop and Shane was immediately in front of me.

"You found him." He stated as I got out of the car.

"He's hurt." I told him. "Help me."

I didn't have to say anything else. Before I knew it Shane was there with Dale and Jim, helping me to get Chris from the car and to my tent. Lori tried to get me to take a step back. To ask me what happened. But I didn't have time to answer her questions. I couldn't handle it right now. All I could think about was Chris and making sure that he would be okay.


	9. Chapter Nine

**And on we go!**

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

Emotionally drained, I thanked everyone for helping me. They were even kind enough to leave me alone to tend to my husband. He was lying on the mattress, looking pale and fragile. Digging through all the meds I had, I found the penicillin and aspirin, figuring out the doses for both before giving them to him. He was groggy and seemed unaware of what was going on. Being as gentle as I could, I removed his clothes, terrified of what I'd find underneath them. I had every right to fear. There were abrasions all over his arms and legs. Small lacerations covering his back as well as massive bruising, only a few patches of flesh colored skin visible through the discoloration. Tears were already streaming as I took it all in. The bruises on his left side moved around his side, telling me that ribs were more then likely broken or at least fractured. That meant months of pain till they healed. Lori's voice came from outside the tent. I opened it long enough to take the hot water and cloth, then to thank her before I shut the tent again. She didn't try and ask me anything. She just left me alone. I washed his body clean before using the iodine to clean all of his wounds. When I was done I put clean clothes on him before making him comfortable on his side. Moving to his other side, I put my hand on his face. His chest was intact other then a single cut along his collarbone.

"Chris? How are you feeling?" I asked him gently rubbing his cheek. He let out a low groan. "Yeah." I nodded. "Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon."

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." I whispered back, kissing him as he drifted off to sleep.

Sighing, I kissed his forehead before covering him with two sleeping bags to keep him warm. I didn't know how long I sat with him, holding his hand, before I finally left the tent, zipping it closed behind me.

"Hey." Lori said quietly. She had been sitting outside the tent. I attempted to smile at her before I broke down sobbing. She quickly wrapped her arms around me. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"He's hurt." I cried. "Bad."

"He'll be okay." She told me, hugging me tightly.

Nodding, I released her as I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I'm scared for him."

"You're going to do everything you can for him. We all are." She told me sweetly.

"Look at him." I frowned. "Just go look at him. His entire back is one giant bruise. The ribs on his left side are probably broken. I have no way of knowing how badly they're broken. What if they are puncturing something inside of him and he's going to bleed out internally?"

"You can't think like that." She told me, taking my head in her hands. "You can't. He's going to be okay. He will heal and everything will be fine. He just needs to rest."

"Rest." I nodded. "Right." She hugged me again and I couldn't help but squeeze her as hard as I could, feeling her do the same. I was grateful to her. Then I felt guilty for not telling her what happened with Rick. "I'm sorry." I said releasing her, wiping more tears from my cheeks. "Rick is okay." I told her. A look of relief crossing her face, releasing the breath she had been holding. "When I left him he was fine. I really wasn't with them for long." I told her. "I'm sorry I don't know more but I had to look for Christian. I hope you understand."

"I do. I do." She said putting her hands on my arms. "I'm so happy that you found your husband. I am." She smiled.

"Thank you." I told her as more tears slid down. "Um…where's Echo?" I asked.

"She's with the kids." She told me. "She's okay. I think she knows you're here but they're keeping her busy."

"Where is everyone else? I'm sure they all know that we're back." I asked as I put my hand across my forehead.

"I told Shane to make sure they stay back. You're under enough stress you don't need to have everyone rushing over here to ask questions and want to see him. He's your husband and you need to take care of him. I'll make sure you get the alone time that both of you need." She told me very matter-of-factly.

"Thank you." I told her as my eyes filled with tears. "Thank you so much."

"I'm here for you." She smiled.

"Thank you." I told her as I took a shuddering breath. "I just can't handle them right now."

"I know." She said, gently rubbing a strand of my hair between her fingers.

Nodding at her, we just stood there together. I didn't know what else to say and it was hard to think about anything other then Christian. Staring at the tent, the tears started again, only I didn't stop them. I needed to get all the emotions out that I could so I could be strong for my husband. I needed to push aside all my feelings and just protect and support him. To have him back was the best miracle I could have ever asked for. I didn't realize that I had started rocking back and forth as my mind tried to wrap itself around everything that had happened. It wasn't even midday and I felt so exhausted and emotionally drained that I didn't know how I was going to get through the rest of the day.

When the tears finally stopped, I was on my knees, rocking myself with Lori's arms around me. I looked at her and she smiled sadly at me. I nodded again as I slowly got to my feet. "I'm going to go check on him." She nodded at me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "I'll be right out here if you need me."

"Thank you." I whispered as my throat clenched as emotion gripped me again. "I really, really appreciate it. More then I can say."

"You don't have to thank me so much." She said lightly. "Go be with your husband."

"Okay." I nodded and slipped back into the tent.

Going to Chris's side, I looked at his face. He was sleeping so deeply I was afraid to touch him. Gently putting my hand on his face, I stared at him. He was warmer now but I didn't think he had a fever. As I calmed down, my mind moved to everything I knew about medicine. But it didn't have anything to do with people. Everything I knew was from vet medicine. It was enough though to not make me freak out even more then I already was. Placing a kiss on his forehead, I moved to face his back, gently lifting the sleeping bags to take another look at his back. His injuries were at least a day old. The bruising was already turning colors. It took only a few seconds before a shiver ran through his body. Quickly putting the sleeping bags back in place, I went back around him, softly looking at him as his brows furrowed.

"I didn't mean to wake you." I whispered to him.

"I'm glad you did." He whispered back.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him gently rubbing his cheek with my thumb.

"Better." He said before frowning. "I think."

Smiling, I kissed him sweetly. "I'll give you another dose of antibiotics in another couple hours. But I think its working."

"I hope so." He smiled. "Now kiss me again."

I couldn't help but laugh, kissing him again. Kissing him several times before finally stopping, reminding myself that he was still hurt and weak. Smiling, I ran my fingers through his hair, content with just looking at him. Continuously running my fingers through his hair, I took in every inch of his face. The feel of his skin. The look in his eyes as he looked back at me. The smile on his face made my body heat up and all I could think about were the mornings and nights we'd spend in bed together wearing nothing but a sheet.

"I know what you're thinking." He smiled brushing his fingers across my cheekbone.

"You need to stop doing that." I smiled at him.

"Why?" He grinned.

"Because it makes me want to do things with you that I just can't at the moment." I told him.

"I can't help it." He smiled but his tone was serious. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I said and kissed him again, my tongue slipping between his lips.

"It's about time." He whispered with his lips still against mine.

"Shut up and just kiss me." I whispered back before his hand moved to the back of my head. Kissing him deeply, my hand moved from his face to his neck, before I unconsciously moved my arm around him, pressing against the bruises on his back. He winced with pain, a frown on his face. "I'm sorry." I told him moving my hand to his face again. "Baby, I'm sorry."

"Shhh. It's okay." He smiled and ran his hand down my hair. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." I frowned as I tried not to cry.

"It is." He told me. "I'm going to be fine. I'll heal and everything is going to be fine."

"I know." I nodded and smiled at him. "I know you are."

"Thank you." He told me.

I couldn't help the surprised expression that came to my face. "For what?"

"For coming for me."

"You don't have to thank me for that." I smiled.

"Yes I do." He said. "I'm sorry I didn't come for you."

"Stop it." I frowned at him. "Don't you dare go there. We both thought the other was dead."

"Yeah, but I should have looked harder." He replied.

"I didn't look at all." I confessed. "Conner told me you were dead and I believed him."

"As you should have." He said running his fingers through my hair.

"No." I said shaking my head. "If I were a good wife I would have tried to find you. No matter what I might have found."

"You're the perfect wife. You did the right thing." He told me reassuringly.

"How can you say that?" I frowned. "Conner told me you were dead and I just believed him. But here you are…alive…and I didn't even look for you. Even if you had been bitten and you were one of them, I still should have found you and done what you would want me to do. I should have done something. _Anything_. But I didn't. I just broke down and started mourning you. I didn't even look." I said, tears running down my cheeks as I closed my eyes, remembering the pain of that day.

"Caroline." He said with his hand on my face. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"No. But Conner did." I told him, anger coating my words. "He had a doubt. He wasn't sure if you were dead or alive but he told me you were dead. He wanted to make it easier. He knew that I would go after you. Afraid of what would happen he took the easy way out. He was selfish. He told me you were dead when he wasn't one hundred percent sure of it. He had a doubt and he didn't tell me."

"He did what I would have done if I were him." He told me.

"No!" I yelled before lowering my voice. "He had no right to tell me you were dead when he wasn't sure that you were. Then Peter was killed." I said and paused as he tried to sit up, a frown on his face. "No, lay still." I said gently pushing him back down. He rolled onto his back. I knew it hurt but he wasn't showing it. Tears ran from the corners of his eyes, knowing they were for Peter. "After Peter died Conner and I got closer and closer. There was a moment or two that I actually thought of moving on. He was there and he was sweet and he cares for me. But I couldn't. And just when I thought I could I found out that you were alive. He lied to me."

"He loves you." Chris told me.

"That's part of the problem." I replied.

"I know." He smiled.

"You know?" I frowned at him.

"He's loved you since we were kids. I'm just the lucky one who got to keep you." He told me.

"There was never a competition." I told him.

"I know." He said kissing my palm again.

"I've loved you forever." I whispered to him, a small smile crossing my face.

"No, you haven't." He smiled. "You didn't start loving me till your boobs came in."

"Hey." I said hitting his chest lightly. "That's not funny."

We both started laughing. All the tension, fear, and anger simply melted away by just the sound of his laughter. Sitting on the edge of the mattress I leaned over him, putting my hand on his face.

"I love you." I smiled and kissed him. "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you."

"That's a lot of 'I love you''s." He smiled back.

"I have to make up for lost time." I told him and laughed lightly. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too." He said and kissed me again.

Helping him onto his other side, I laid with him, always touching some part of him. Unable to stand not touching him. Needing to feel a part of him. We stared into each others eyes and smiled. Happiness is a marvelous feeling and I couldn't have been more happy then I was right now. I waited till he fell asleep before I moved. Looking at the clock I realized that he could have a second dose of penicillin. I didn't want to wake him but he needed to have as much of the antibiotic as he could until he was better. He flinched slightly but didn't wake as I administered the dose. Making sure he was okay, I slowly left the tent, needing the fresh air and the need to tell everyone else that he was going to be okay.

"Hey." Lori said, standing as I walked up to her. "How is he?"

"Better." I smiled at her. "He's better. I think he's going to be just fine."

"That's good. That's really good." She said hugging me tightly.

"It is." I grinned at her. "It really is. I have him back and he's just the way he's supposed to be."

"I'm so happy for you." She said before releasing me.

"Is Rick back yet?" I asked. She smiled at me sadly. "He'll be okay. They'll all be okay."

"Your group keeps asking for you. Conner's been here several times. They want to know what's going on." She told me.

"I was going to go look for them now." I replied.

"That's good." She told me. "I'll stay here in case he wakes up and calls out or something."

"Thank you." I said hugging her again before I walked away.

I was halfway through camp when Echo came barreling around the corner. Kneeling on the ground, I happily greeted her, rubbing her belly, taking her head in my hands and placing a long kiss against her muzzle. Half a day without my dog felt like half a month. It felt the same when I finally joined the group. All of my people immediately jumped up and rushed over. Conner stood but was slow to join the rest of the group.

"Is he okay?" Finn asked.

"We heard he was hurt." Lex said taking his hand.

I hardly got a word in as they bombarded me with questions. It took me yelling at them in order to shut them up long enough for me to speak. I let them stew for a few minutes, putting my thoughts together before I could tell them anything.

"He's going to be okay." I told them. "He's hurt. He's hurt pretty bad but I've given him two doses of antibiotics and aspirin for the pain. His entire back is bruised and he has several abrasions and a few cuts but I've cleaned and taken care of them. He's weak and tired, sleeping now, but he'll be okay."

There was a lot of relieved breathes and hugging as everyone took in the happy news. Conner stood separate from the group. Stepping up to me as the others moved back to the fire to enjoy the happy moment.

"Are you okay?" Conner asked cautiously.

"I'm good." I told him, the disdain in my voice diminished. "Christian is going to be okay. So, I'm good. Really good."

"I'm sorry." He told me. "I am sorry that I didn't tell you. It was just my way of protecting you."

"I know." I replied. "I'm sorry I've been so angry with you. I'm still not happy with you. But I shouldn't have been so angry."

"Yeah, you should have." He told me. "I'm still sorry."

"Thank you." I said softly.

"Is he really going to be okay?" He asked.

"Yes." I smiled. "I really think he is. It's going to take time but he's going to be fine."

"Can I see him?" He asked, I could see his nervousness in his eyes.

"No." I replied, getting serious again. "No." I repeated. "Not yet. Let him rest for a while and then I'll let you see him."

"I understand." He smiled at me.

"Thank you." I smiled back.

There was a small pause before he gently nudged me. "I saved you a can of pears."

"Really?" I asked with a raised brow. He nodded. "Thank you, Conner."

"You're welcome." He smiled and motioned for me to follow him.

"Hi." I smiled at Amy as I sat next to her.

"He's okay?" She asked.

I could see the feelings in her eyes. Could see the concern she had for him. I thanked Conner as he handed me the can of pears, sitting next to me. I looked at him but he avoided my eyes.

"Yes he is." I smiled at her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." She smiled at me.

"What does Christian mean to you?" I asked.

"Nothing." She said too quickly. "He's just a friend."

"You have feelings for him." I stated. "Don't you." She didn't say anything. "It's okay." I told her. She just looked at me. "I can see why you'd like him." I grinned and nudged her. This made her smile. "I'm sorry." I told her seriously.

"For what?" She frowned.

"For being the one percent who actually finds their loved ones." I told her.

"Don't." She said. "Don't, Caroline. I am very happy that you found your husband. He was never going to get over you. All he did was talk about you. It was annoying since all I wanted was for him to notice me. But it was always you and it always will be."

"Thank you." I smiled, putting an arm around her.

"Thank you for finding him." She smiled back.

"Thank you for telling me he was alive." I told her.

"I'll thank you both if you stop saying 'thank you' so much." Conner piped up from my other side.

Andrea burst with laughter on the other side of Amy, grinning at Conner. He just smiled and looked away. The whole scene seemed to relax after that. I moved around camp as people talked to me about Chris and what had happened. They had known Chris for weeks. Dale asked me to sit and talk to him. I obliged and sat next to him. He held his hand out to me. Smiling, I put mine in his and looked at him.

"How are you doing?" He smiled at me.

"I am good, Dale. I am very good." I told him.

"No one is asking how you are." He stated.

"No, not many." I replied. "But that's okay. Chris being here is more important then how I am."

"Not true." He told me seriously. "You are just as important as he is."

"Thank you, Dale. I appreciate that." I smiled.

"I noticed a limp." He said leaning toward me. "Are you hurt?"

Smiling, I gently rubbed my knee. "I jumped a roof and landed funny, slamming my knee into the ground."

"You jumped a roof?" He asked with raised brows.

I laughed lightly as I took in his expression. "Yes. I had to follow Christian and he jumped the roof so I had to too."

"You are a brave woman." He told me, squeezing my hand.

"I'm only brave when I have to be." I smiled. "If there was any chance of finding my husband then I was willing to do anything and everything I had to. And I found him. And he's going to be okay."

"Thanks to you." He grinned. "This is what they mean when they talk about soul mates. Despite everything that has happened, after the hell that the world has turned into, you still found him and you are together again. It's amazing."

"You have no idea." Chris's voice startled me. Looking up, he had one sleeping bag around him while he held the other. "Hitting on my girl, Dale?" He grinned.

"Christian." I said and immediately went to his side. "You should be resting." I told him, looking past him at Lori. She shrugged, but there was a smile on her face.

"I needed a cuddle session with my wife." He whispered in my ear.

Grinning from ear to ear, I nodded and led him to the fire that was built. I took the sleeping bag from his hands and laid it on the ground. Sitting down, leaning against a log, I looked up at my husband. He smiled as he pulled the sleeping bag off before sitting down, leaning against me. I took the sleeping bag and draped it over his body. I couldn't express how good it felt to have him against me. To feel his warmth mixing with mine. Putting my arms underneath the bag, I wrapped them around him, breathing him in. He smelled just like I remembered. Bending my good knee, I cradled his head in the nook of my arm. I was afraid for his back but he didn't flinch as I caressed his chest and ran my fingers through his hair. I shifted my weight but he didn't seem to mind at all. Putting my face in his hair, I breathed deeply, cherishing the moment. Never wanting to let him go.

"Never let me go." He whispered as he buried his face in my neck.

"I was thinking just that." I whispered back to him, moving my forehead against his.

"I love you." He said sweetly.

"I love you too." I said and kissed him deeply.

We sat and listened to the conversations around us. I was content in just holding him. The sun was starting to set when I noticed that he was asleep again. Feeling his chest rise and fall beneath my arms. Feeling his breath against my neck. Just him being here was the highlight of my life. I was sitting quietly when Conner came and sat next to Chris, putting his hand on his ankle. It was almost too much when Conner started to cry. He covered his eyes with his hand, burying his face in his knees. I wanted to reach out to him but I didn't want to move Chris. Tears filled my eyes as I beheld him. Holding Chris tighter, I listened to Conner cry. It was nearly unbearable to hear. He had made a mistake. One that I was ready to hold over his head for the rest of his life. But hearing him mourn his mistake and rejoice the fact that his best friend was alive was harder to hear then almost anything else I've heard in my life. It must have been written all over my face because Andrea came up behind Conner and put her hands on his shoulders. He put his free hand over hers and she took it as a sign that it was okay to be there. And it was. She put her arms around him, moving to her knees as she held him against her chest. Mouthing 'thank you' to Andrea, she smiled and nodded at me.

"Really. Thank you." I told Andrea as we stood apart from Chris and Conner. As soon as Chris woke up he asked to talk to Conner. They were talking to each other, catching up on everything that happened. Both with smiles on their faces.

"You're welcome." She told me. "I couldn't just let him go through it alone."

"I'm glad you couldn't." I smiled.

"He's a good guy." She smiled back.

"He's a very good guy." I agreed. "I've known three great men. I'm married to one, was related to one, and you like the other one." I smiled at her.

"I do." She smiled. "I really do."

"He's a lucky man." I said and nudged her.

"So is Chris." She nodded at me. "It's a miracle."

"I know." I grinned at her. "I never thought I'd see him again. I thought I would finally have to let him go. To move on and try and let go of the love of my life. I've loved Christian for over half my life. It took me weeks to come out of the abyss that was my misery. I missed him. And now that I have him back nothing else could make me happier."

"I can see that." She replied.

"Does Amy hate me?" I asked her seriously. "She clearly has a thing for Chris and I showed up and ruined that."

"She's disappointed." Andrea told me with a slightly sad tone to her voice. "She and Chris got along really well but she never stood a chance. But I think she was going to enjoy the fight."

"Yeah." I smiled and nodded at her.

"Hey." Lori said stepping up on my other side.

"Hey." I smiled putting my arm around her. "Where you been?"

"Giving you some time with your husband." She smiled back. "Wanna help me with dinner?"

"Yeah, you two cook. Amy and I caught all the fish." Andrea smiled.

"Ha ha." I told her, shoving her as Lori and I walked away.

"You seem really happy." Lori smiled at me as we started to clean the fish.

"I am ecstatic." I grinned at her before my smile fell. "I'm sorry." I told her.

"For what?" She asked a smile still on her face.

"For coming back without the others. For not knowing where Rick is." I replied.

"Don't do this to yourself." She told me. "Rick knew what he was doing."

"I know." I nodded.

"He'll be okay and he'll be back." She smiled.

"I know." I replied returning it. "He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize himself from coming back to you. He was so ecstatic to see you. He's never going to let you go."

"I know." She smiled and nodded.

"Everything is going to be fine." I said and rubbed her back.

"I know." She nodded.

It was crazy to think that we were so much alike. We both were in the same boat when it came to our husbands. First she had hers now I had mine. Hers was out there and there was no way of knowing what was happening to him. The roles had been reversed and we kept repeating the same things to each other to help make us feel better. But knowing that Chris was out of the woods made everything seem brighter; even though I was keeping him dosed with penicillin and aspirin.

"I see I've taught you well." Chris said sitting next to me, placing a kiss in my hair, as I continued to clean the fish.

"Yes you did." I said kissing him. "We'll have nice boneless fish for dinner."

"I'm even learning something." Lori grinned at him.

"Linny's a good teacher." He said as he put his arm around my waist.

"You've really perked up." I smiled at him. "How are your ribs?"

"I feel a lot better." He smiled running his hand down the back of my head. "And they are going to be fine. I don't think they're broken. Just bruised."

"Good." I smiled. "I'm glad you feel better." I told him, kissing him deeply.

Chris sat and talked to me and Lori as we cleaned the fish. He criticized how I cleaned them, being nitpicky about leaving any bones in the meat. I, of course, argued with him. It felt exactly like old times. Like the millions of meals we'd cooked together, especially when he was teaching me something for the first time. He finally took over when it came to cooking the fish. He'd pour a little bit of his beer over it every few minutes. Beer. That was the best part. Drinking beer and cooking with my husband over an open fire. Echo lying nearby. Our closest friend and many new ones surrounding us. It was like the times we'd go camping. Taking a trip up to the boundary waters, living off only what fit in our packs and what the forest could provide. This felt just like that. It was amazing. It made me feel like everything was going to be okay. That despite everything that had happened and the walking dead…we were going to be okay. All of us.


	10. Chapter Ten

_**Chapter Ten**_

Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is contagious. Laughter burns calories. Laughter is good for the soul and at this point I felt like I was floating. The sun had gone down and the fish was nearly gone. We'd been talking, drinking, and laughing for hours now. The fire was warm as we all enjoyed each others company. I couldn't help the sense of family that passed between us all. The fact that we had made it this far was astonishing after what the world had become. We were all together, we had survived, and we were making the most out of what we had left. Every moment was a miracle and I cherished every one of them.

"This is nice." Chris told me as I held his hand, trailing my fingers up and down his arm with the other.

"Very." I smiled at him. "It feels normal."

"I like normal." He smiled back. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Of course." I replied.

He leaned toward me, gripping my hand. "Kiss me." He whispered.

Laughing again, I closed the remaining distance and kissed him deeply and repeatedly. "I could kiss you forever my husband."

"I could kiss you forever too my wife." He smiled and kissed me again.

"I see someone is feeling better and you two seem much happier." Dale's voice drifted over to us.

Grinning, feeling my face flush, I looked at him. "Happy is too bland for how I feel right now. I'm on top of the world."

"As am I." Chris said and placed a kissed against my palm.

For a second I just smiled at him. Content with just looking at him. He simply smiled back. Soon my mind wandered and a large grin moved across my face. "Maybe we should go back to our tent." I told him with a mischievous grin. He got a giddy expression on his face and I shot up out of my seat. "We'll be back." I told everyone and grabbed Chris's hand, practically dragging him away from the fire.

I practically shoved him through the tent as I became more and more excited. I was about to have my husband all to myself, becoming as close to him as two people can get. The only thing better then having him back was to have him back in every possible way.

"Are you sure?" I asked him as he lay on top of me.

"Just watch the bruises." He smirked and kissed me passionately.

Giggling like a school girl, I caressed his face, trailing my fingers up and down his sides before running both hands down his chest. I was just reaching for his pants when screaming erupted from outside. There was the scratchy groan as a walker passed by our tent.

"What the hell." Chris said and slowly got off of me.

I quickly rolled over and grabbed my guns, handing one to Chris. "Be careful."

He quickly put his hand on my face, pulling it to him so he could kiss me deeply. My words were repeated in his eyes as he looked into mine. Nodding at him, we went to the edge of the tent. Slowly unzipping it, just enough to slip the head of the silencer out, we waited for the walkers to walk by. After shooting several, it was quiet at our end of camp. Looking at Chris, we slowly and quietly slipped outside. Moving through camp we took down several more walkers before we followed the intensified screams from the main area of camp. Chris nodded at me as we both moved around camp to come in on opposite sides. Coming out on the back side of the RV I saw a walker dig its teeth into Amy's neck. Andrea screamed, mixing with my own, rushing to her sister as I put a bullet in the walkers head, shooting the others that were coming to feed on her, before I dropped to my knees at Amy's side. Andrea dropped to her knees on her other side a second later.

"Amy." I said putting my hand on her hair. "Oh, God."

Tears were streaming down both our faces as Andrea and I looked at each other before looking down at her sister, fear encompassing her. Walkers were still coming and I rose to my full height on my knees as I shot them. By the time I looked down at Amy again she was gone. Freaking out, I stood and started to walk toward a cluster of walkers as they fed on their latest victim. A few stood and turned toward me as I shot. Despite the agony I was feeling, I still held my aim, even as they came closer and closer. The last walker was a mere foot in front of my weapon when I blew its head apart. For a moment I stood there, breathing hard, looking at the damage that had been done to our group. There were so few of us as it was. It felt so unfair. My mind had barely registered the feelings coursing through me when I felt a hand grip me. Whipping around, the first thing I saw was an open mouth as the walker attempted to bite me. Taking its head in my hands, I snapped its neck, giving me enough time to raise my gun, shooting it in the head. There was barely a pause from my last shot when the number of shots increased as more guns rang through the camp. Turning toward the shots, I saw Rick and the others coming in through the trees. The screaming was dying down, and soon the final walkers were put down.

"Are you okay?" Glenn said rushing up to me, gripping my arm.

Gripping his in return, I nodded at him, "Yes. Are you?"

"Yeah." He nodded back.

"Chris!" I yelled, not seeing him. "Christian!"

"I'm right here." He said from behind me. Whipping around, I threw my arms around his neck, crying into him as he held me tightly. "It's okay."

"No." I said shaking my head against him. "They were here."

"It's okay." He said again. "I'm right here and everything is going to be okay."

"The others." I said and let him go, putting the palms of my hands against my forehead as I searched for my people. "Finn!" I yelled when I saw him.

"Caroline." He said embracing me.

"Where's Lex?" I asked him.

"She's safe." He told me.

"Where's Conner?" Chris asked.

"Right here." He said as he stepped up to us.

Chris nodded at him before he hugged his friend. I did the same, holding him tightly. "I'm glad you're safe."

"You too." He said but looked at me sadly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's Becca." He told me. "And Tym."

"No." I said shaking my head at him.

"I'm so sorry." He said and embraced me.

"Where?" I asked.

He looked behind him. Rushing into the woods, I found Lex, sitting with a crying and shaking Rebecca. Slowly walking toward them, I dropped to my knees as I saw the deep wound on Rebecca's shoulder.

"Becca…" I said breathlessly as I looked at her.

"It's okay." She cried. "It's okay."

Lex broke down and leaned against me as she sobbed. Soon there were hands on both our shoulders as our men came to comfort us.

"Hi, Becca." Chris said running a hand down her hair as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Hi, Chris." She smiled back, putting her hand on his arm.

"I see you've been staying out of trouble." He grinned at her.

She laughed, sending Lex and me into another sobbing fit, unable to control ourselves. "I see you have too."

"I never promised I wouldn't." He said and winked at her.

She laughed again and shook her head at him. As un-okay with it as we all were it seemed to have taken Rebecca very little to accept her fate. But we'd been living with the reality of it for two months already. Two months of fear. Knowing what getting bit means. Knowing what we'd become if it happened.

As soon as I managed to get Lex and myself calmed down, Rebecca asked to be alone. Out of respect, we allowed her to walk away, though it was killing me to let her out of my site. Looking at Chris, I wasn't sure how to deal with this. I'd seen people from our group die. I'd seen death. But I didn't know if I could watch it slowly kill one of the kindest people I have ever met.

"It's gonna be okay." He whispered to me.

"No. It's not." I said shaking my head.

There was a nicker behind me and I turned to see Nixon come from the woods, Chewy, Tayla, Sunny and Shadowfax following him. It almost felt like a sign. Life will find a way to survive the horror that the world had become. They'd survived. It was my piece of hope. Hope.

Stepping toward them, I wrapped my arms around Nixon's nose, letting my tears soak into his coat. He simply nickered again, resting his head against me. When I let him go, I looked at Chris to see an almost childlike smile on his face as he held his hand out to the horses.

"Where did you guys come from?" He asked casually.

"I forgot to tell you how we ended up here." I told him. "We found them in the woods. Some hermit woman had lived in the middle of nowhere. She'd killed herself so I took the liberty of saving her horses."

"They're beautiful." He said with a smile as he patted Chewy's neck.

"A small light at the end of the tunnel." I told him flatly. As happy as I was to see that at least a few had survived, it wasn't enough to make me feel any less depressed about what had happened.

"I know." He said and pulled me into him.

"Why did this happen, Chris?" I asked him as more tears filled my eyes.

"I don't know." He said placing a kiss on the top of my head. "I wish it hadn't but we're going to be okay. We are going to keep going and we are going to survive. We're together and that's the way it's going to stay."

Nodding, he let me cry for only a few minutes before gently quieting me. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done. The walkers were dead, but now we had to dispose of them. Not only them but the ones that we lost. The people who had survived this long had actually thought they'd found a safe haven. Only it was torn away from them. From _us_. Even I had thought we were going to be safe. Then it all came crashing down. In _minutes_ it all came crashing down.

"Caroline." Lex said, tears still running as Chris and I joined the others.

"Hey." I smiled as I embraced her.

"Linny…" Finn said placing a kiss in my hair.

"Finn…" I said as I ran my hand down his face. "We're gonna be okay." I told them.

Lex sniffled against my shoulder and soon there were two other sets of arms around us. The remaining members of our group had come to show that this wasn't going to be the end of us. That despite all the horror that we've gone through, we would still survive and we would still be there for each other.

"I love you guys." I told them.

There was a collective 'I love you' that passed through the group, drawing a smile onto all of our faces.

"Okay, enough lovey dovey-ness for one night." Connor told us as he let go.

We still stood in a small circle before separating into different directions to help do what was needed. Spending the remainder of the night going through camp and making sure all the walkers stayed dead and moving our own dead into piles. It was a horrendous situation. The only bright side was that Rick and the others were back. They arrived and helped deal with the walkers. Without the guns they had brought back things might have turned out differently. Everything else was just bleak and horrible. Daryl volunteered to take care of everyone; taking a pickaxe to everyone's skull to make sure the dead stayed dead. The walkers were burned while our own were set aside to be buried in the random holes Jim had been digging. Tym had been killed. Half eaten by those monsters. He was taken away and a pickaxe was put thorough his head before he was added to the pile that would be buried. Even as the sun rose we were all still hard at work. The sun heating us and all of the bodies, making the smell of the dead overpowering.

"How are you doing?" Chris asked me as I finished helping Lex move one of the dead women.

"Not good." I told him as my eyes filled with tears. I'd been holding in all my emotions since my initial breakdown. I didn't know what else to do then help move the dead. To help do whatever I could for Andrea and for Rebecca. There was just so much for me to wrap my head around that I felt like I was going to explode. "How are you?" I asked as I swallowed my emotions. "Are you feeling okay? You're not working yourself too hard are you? I don't want you to get worse if you're pushing yourself too hard. You should rest." I blurted out, avoiding his eyes.

"Hey." He said gently lifting my chin with the side of his finger. "I know this all sucks. But you're okay and I'm okay. We're going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"Stop saying that. It's not _okay_. That's not even a word anymore." I frowned at him. "I mean, what about Becca?" I asked. "What are we going to do with her? You know what's going to happen. We _all_ know what's going to happen. How do we deal with that?"

"We'll see when the time comes." He smiled and pulled me against him.

"I'm scared." I told him.

"I know. I am too." He replied and held me tighter.

"I love you." I whispered as I closed my eyes, relishing his touch, the feel of his chest, and the sound of his heart in my head. "I love you so much."

"Love is too small a word for how I feel about you." He whispered with his lips against my ear.

The tone of his voice sent a rush of emotions move through me. "I love you, Christian. I adore you. You are all I think about. You are all that I need. If anything happens to you…" I said and trailed off, the night's fear coming to the surface.

"Nothing is going to happen to me." He said pulling me away from him to meet my eyes. "I'll be fine as long as you're okay. Everything you said goes for you too. As long as you're okay then I'll be okay." He told me matter-of-factly. "And yes, I know that's not a word anymore." He added with a small smirk.

"Okay." I smiled, nodding as I leaned against his chest again. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled, kissing the top of my head. "I love you more then anything."

"Sorry to interrupt." Shane said stepping up to us.

"It's fine." I smiled at him.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

"I found several horse bodies littering the woods. The walkers must have gotten to them first. I thought you'd want to know." He told me.

"How many?" I frowned at him. "I know at least five survived."

"There is at least four. Maybe more. They probably saved many lives." He said reassuringly.

"They were good horses." I told him.

"They really were. Especially that little pony." He smiled before walking away.

Sighing, I looked up at Chris. "Add them to the list of things I've lost. They probably would've been better off if I'd just left them in the woods."

"You did the right thing." He told me. "They got to live longer and had attention I'm sure they were craving. I've taught you well." He said with a smile. Smiling back, I nodded at him. "Come on, let's take a break."

Sitting me next to Rebecca by the RV, Chris found Connor and continued to help the others. Echo had been sitting with Rebecca, keeping her company. Now she lay at our feet, a whine and a heavy sigh coming from her every once in a while. It was depressing that the dog recognized the sadness of all this. Stroking her, I looked at Rebecca.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"At the moment I don't feel too bad." She replied.

"That's good." I nodded.

"It's only a matter of time." She told me. "Pretty soon the fever will hit full force and I'm going to feel like death before it actually takes me."

"I'm so sorry." I told her, taking her hand as more tears fell down my cheeks. "I should have been there. I should have been there for you."

"No." She smiled. "It's okay."

"No it's not." I said shaking my head.

"Yes it is." She smiled. "I'm already okay with what's happening to me. I've accepted it. There's nothing else I can do."

"What are you gonna do?" I asked, squeezing her hand.

"I'm thinking about that." She smiled with tears in her eyes. "But what's really sad is what Andrea's going through. You should go talk to her."

"She doesn't want anyone talking to her." I stated.

"Do it anyway." She told me.

Looking at her, I knew that she wanted to be alone. She stroked Echo and kept her eyes on me. Nodding, I kissed her cheek before standing up, smiling at her before I walked away. Slowly walking to Andrea, I kneeled at her side. She didn't even look at me. She simply stared at her sister. I knew how she felt. I knew the feelings that were coursing through her. I knew the thoughts that were running through her mind.

"I am so sorry." I said sadly as I put my hand over Amy's, her sister still holding the other. "I know there is nothing I can do or say. But I cared about your sister. I cared about her very much."

"I know." She replied without looking at me.

"I am just so sorry." I said and wrapped my arm around her, letting my own tears for Amy fall as I embraced her stoic sister. "So sorry."

"I know." Andrea repeated with a shudder. "I know."

I sat with her until Dale came to pay his respects. As soon as I stepped away, I felt such a wave of fatigue that when Conner looked at me, I had barely made it two steps before everything felt like it was moving in slow motion and everything went black.

When I came to, I was back inside my tent. Chris was lying next to me gently caressing my face, Echo on the other. "Hey." He smiled sweetly.

"Hi." I said sadly, putting my hand on his face, running my thumb along his bottom lip.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Oh, how the roles have been reversed." I sighed. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He frowned with concern. "You really had me worried."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Maybe a half hour." He replied, running his fingers through my hair. I simply sighed at him. "You were worried about me pushing myself too hard. Turns out that you were the one who was overdoing it."

"No." I told him. "I just had an emotional breakdown, that's all."

"That's all?" He frowned. "You passed out. If Conner hadn't caught you then you would have slammed down on a bunch of gravel. You don't have to protect everyone. It wasn't your fault. You don't have to be so strong anymore."

"Why not?" I asked him. "Why don't I have to be strong anymore? Why can I not protect the people I love?"

"Because you're going to fail." He frowned.

"Thanks." I frowned sitting up. Echo coming in front of me, laying her head in my lap.

"I don't mean that in a bad way." He said doing the same. "I'm just saying that the world has changed and we can't protect everyone. People are going to die and there is nothing we can do about it."

"I can try." I told him.

"No, I wish you wouldn't." He said shaking his head.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I can't lose you." He told me seriously, meeting my eyes as he put his hand on my face. My expression softened. "The thought of something happening to you makes my stomach turn. I can't stand the thought of losing you now that I have you back. I refuse to let you risk yourself in any way."

"You seemed okay with it last night." I told him.

"I wasn't okay with it." He shot at me, his tone cold as his posture grew rigid. He took his hand away, making Echo whine. "I will never be okay with it. But I want to protect people just as much as you do. But my main priority is you. I can't control you. I know that. But I was not okay with last night. I watched two people get killed because I was worried about you." He told me. "From now on, no matter what's happening, we stay together. We're a team. I don't want you running off half cocked just because you want to protect people."

"You really do love me." I smiled at him.

"Stop it." He frowned.

"I'm sorry." I told him, taking his hand back. "Last night was the scariest thing I've ever had to do. It was dark. People were screaming…" I said and paused. "Then with Becca and Amy…" I said and shook my head. "So, I broke down. I had a moment where I let the world topple. I let go of everything I had been holding in. I was no longer the leader of our group. I just…stopped. For a moment I just stopped and everything came crashing down. I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. Still not sure if I can."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke softly, "You don't have to. Not anymore. I'm here for you."

"I know." I replied. "And I promise that nothing is going to happen to me. I have you back. I wouldn't risk losing you again or you losing me."

"Good. Will you slow down now?" He asked.

"Yes." I promised.

"Good." He repeated before he kissed me deeply. "I love you."

"I love you too." I smiled at him.

"Oh…" He said and pulled something out of his pocket. "I've been meaning to give this back to you." He said holding up my wedding ring.

"I thought it was lost." I told him breathlessly. For a moment I held his hand with both of mine, just looking at it. The curved silver band, wrapping around a square diamond, three small ones imbedded in the band down both sides. Attached to it was a slim band, fused together. His name and 'Forever Love' engraved on the inside.

"Nope." He smiled. "You gave it to me that morning before we left. You told me to hold on to it till we got home safe and sound."

"We never made it." I told him sadly.

"But now we're back together and it belongs on your finger." He said and took my hand. Smiling at him, he slid it back into place. "Much better."

"Thank you for looking after it." I said and kissed him deeply.

"I'd do anything for you." He told me.

I frowned and took his hands in mine. "Will you do me a favor?" I asked.

"Of course." He said frowning.

"You say anything. Don't let it be giving your life for me." I told him. He simply frowned further. "If the day comes and something happens…don't give your life for me. I am begging you. I would never be able to live with myself if you did."

"Same goes for you." He said gently pushing my hair behind my ear.

"Okay." I replied as I took in a shuddering breath.

"Okay." He nodded and pulled me against his side. "Lay with me." He whispered.

Smiling, I laid back on the bed. We lay on our sides, facing each other. He caressed my face while I rested my hand on his chest. Staying that way for several minutes before guilt finally took over, making us finally get up and go start to help again.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked as Chris went off to help Rick and Shane with bodies.

"Not really." I told her with a sad smile.

"Me neither." She said and gently rubbed my back.

"Hey." Glenn said stepping up to me.

"Hey." I smiled at him. He just nodded at me. Putting my arms around his neck, I hugged him tightly, before we turned back to the scene that still looked horrific and the smell had started to intensify.

Taking a deep steadying breath, Lori, Glenn, and I helped move our people up into the bed of the truck. We rode up to where the holes had been dug and helped lay the bodies to rest, burying them. Under the blazing sun it was a small price to pay to give them whatever peace we could. Which wasn't a lot in this world we now lived in.

"Has she moved at all?" I asked Chris as I looked at Andrea.

"No." He replied sadly.

There was a look that passed between everyone. We knew what was coming. Amy was dead and at any time she was going to become the walking dead.

"Can't just leave Amy like that." Shane told us. "We need to deal with it, same as all the others."

Rick nodded, thinking. "I'll tell her how it is." He nodded and started out toward her.

He stepped forward and tried to talk to her, gently saying her name. Just as he reached her she pulled her gun on him, threatening to shoot him. He backed up slowly before returning to us.

"It's no use." He said sadly.

Without saying a word, I started out toward her. Chris quickly grabbed my arm. "It's okay." I told him. He just eyed me with worry. "It's okay." I repeated and he let me go. Walking to Andrea, I didn't hesitate as I kneeled next to her.

"There is nothing you can say." She told me.

"I know." I said gently tucking a few strands of hair behind her ears. "We're just worried is all. What are you waiting for?" I asked.

"I was never a part of her life when she was growing up. I was never there." She told me, her tone filled with regret. Gently rubbing her back, she looked up at me. "I'm going to be there for her this time."

"I understand." I told her, running my hand across her hair. "I am still so very sorry."

"Thank you." She said with a very small smile.

"Anytime." I said and placed a kiss against her hair before I stood and walked back to the others.

"Well?" Shane asked.

"She's waiting." I replied. "Just leave her alone."

"Waiting for what?" Daryl asked as he joined our little group.

"Leave her alone, Daryl." I shot at him threateningly, Chris moving right behind me to add to the threat. Daryl didn't say anything or move toward Andrea. "Good boy." I told him in a condescending way.

"Caroline." Rebecca scolded as she stepped next to Daryl.

Not thinking twice, he put his arm around her, looking back at me, knowing that it would piss me off but that I wouldn't say anything because of Rebecca's condition. I just glared at him, hating him even more right now. Echo growled quietly in her throat. Just enough to support my own feelings. If I could growl I would have in this moment as well. All we could do now was stand and wait, watching Amy's body, dreading what was about to happen. It seemed only a few minutes had gone by when we saw Amy's body start to twitch. Andrea put her ear over her sister's mouth, telling us that she had started to breathe again. I heard several guns cock but nobody moved toward the two sisters. Tears came to my eyes as Amy's eyes opened, even from where I stood I could tell they were blue and dead. Then she reached up and touched Andrea's face before she gripped her hair. I took a tentative step forward but stopped. Andrea said something to her before she put her gun up to Amy's head. She was crying, saying something else before she pulled the trigger, making Amy's death permanent. As soon as it was done, I rushed to her side. Embracing her as she once again mourned her sister. Soon Dale was on her other side. Feeling hands on my arms, I was slowly pulled back onto my feet. Turning, Christian pulled me against him. Allowing tears to flow, I buried my face against his chest. He led me away from the others, moving us back to our tent.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"You don't need to see that." He told me.

"She needs me." I replied even though I didn't fight him as he sat me down on a stump.

"She'll need you more after she buries her sister. Just take a moment and wrap your head around what we just saw." He told me gently.

"I never want to see that again." I said and looked up at him. "She was just alive last night and then she was dead and then she was the walking dead. How did this happen?"

"I don't know." He said and pulled me against him.

Closing me eyes, Peter's face entered my mind, making them shoot open as it showed me the walker him and not the brother I knew and loved. Christian kept telling me that it was going to be okay. Repeating it as a new wave of tears came over me. What if Peter looked like that? What if he was wandering around without a soul, doomed to stay that way forever? I knew he was dead. I never saw what happened to him and the thought of him walking around was unbearable. I could live with the knowledge that he was gone, but seeing Amy come back, picturing the same happening to my big brother…hurt like hell.

"Is she okay?" Lori asked as she walked up to us.

"I'm fine." I said standing as I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"Are you sure?" She asked unconvinced.

"I'd just never seen it happen before." I told her crossing my arms.

"Me neither." She said stepping up to me.

Smiling, laughing lighting, I told her, "This is a very girly question but…can I have a hug?" She smiled and embraced me. "This just sucks, _so_ much."

"It really does." Lori said gently.

"Hey." Shane said walking up to us.

"Hey." I replied.

"What is it?" Lori asked him.

"We're ready to bury Amy." He replied. "Thought you'd all like to be there."

"We'll be right there." Chris told him gently. He nodded and walked away.

"I'm gonna go find Rick and Carl." Lori smiled and hugged me once more before walking away.

Chris smiled at me sadly as he took my head in his hands. Putting my hands on his forearms I smiled back at him. He placed a long kiss against my forehead before he pressed his lips against mine. Leaning into him, I kissed him deeply, loving the taste of him. His smell. The feel of his skin, his muscles moving underneath my hands. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I gripped his hair as I continued to kiss him. It was moments like this kept me sane.

Finally walking back to the group, Amy was the last to be moved. Andrea wrapped her and insisted on doing everything herself. She was struggling to get Amy up into the bed of the truck. Anyone who tried to move to help her, she dismissed with as much venom as an angry rattler. Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I walked to the truck, jumping into the bed and looking down at Andrea. She looked back with hate in her eyes but she didn't say anything. Squatting down, I took Amy around the shoulders and looked at her sister.

"You've done right by her and I know that you can do this. But it's simply too painful to watch." I told her. She gave a subtle nod. "On three."

Counting to three, we hoisted Amy into the bed of the truck. As soon as she was ready, I jumped out again; going to Chris as Shane slowly drove the truck uphill to the burial site. Chris took my hand as we followed the truck. Andrea needed her last moments with her sister. No matter what form it took.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Chris asked me.

"Probably not." I replied honestly. He looked at me sadly. "Amy was the last of her family. She has no one left. She's anything but okay."

"I guess I can't say that I blame her. I don't know what I'd do if it happened to me all over again." He replied and squeezed my hand tightly.

"I don't think I'd survive long." I told him, looking up into his deep blue eyes.

"You wouldn't do anything stupid." He said wrapping his arm around me, pulling me into his side.

"No." I confirmed. "But I'd die from a broken heart." Sighing, he nodded before kissing me, whispering 'me too' in my ear.

Standing in front of the empty grave, Andrea managed to get Amy out of the truck but struggled to pull her over to the grave. I was about to help her when Dale stepped forward and helped lift her into the hole. Then we all watched as Andrea buried her sister, standing watch as she put shovel full after shovel full of dirt over the grave. It was heart wrenching to watch. At the same time I wished that I had been able to bury Peter. Been able to say my final goodbye, knowing that I had laid him to rest. Chris sensed my emotions and wrapped his arm around me tighter. I did the same, resting my head on his chest as my eyes never left Andrea. When she was finished she knelt by the grave and sat quietly. Dale said something nice. Repeating a passage from somewhere that he had learned a long time ago. It was sweet and fitting. Andrea let silent tears fall but she never made a sound. I knelt next to her, giving my last respects, before I returned to Christian. He wrapped his arm around me again and led me back down to camp. Going to our tent, I looked at everything inside. Sitting on our makeshift bed, I pulled Echo into me, pressing my face into her coat.

"We should start packing." Chris told me gently, putting his hands on my arms from behind me, placing a kiss against my hair.

Okay." I nodded. "But first…I'll be right back."

"Linny…" He said catching my hand.

"I'm okay." I smiled and kissed him deeply. "I love you." I told him kissing him again, repeating the words a few more times, kissing him after each time.

I was half way back to the RV when Conner appeared in my path. Both of us froze at the sight of each other. Not knowing which one should make the first move. Echo's panting was the only sound between us. Sighing, I finally stepped up to him, putting my arms around his neck. He moved his arms around me, gently at first, before he squeezed tighter. For a second it felt like nothing had ever fallen between us. We would be okay. Letting him go, we simply smiled at each other.

"I was going to go see Chris." He said cautiously.

"I'm going to see Becca." I replied.

We stood there a moment more before going around him, smiling before walking away. Walking to the main section of camp, I saw Dale coming out of the RV. He smiled sadly when he saw me. He reminded me of Chris's grandfather. I'd thought that since the beginning, but at this moment I felt it more then ever before. I spent so much time being the adult that I had forgotten what it was like to feel like the child. Smiling back, I felt the tears as he opened his arms to me. Laughing lightly, I rushed into them, hugging him tightly.

"It's been a long day." He told me sweetly as he took my face in his hands. "You've done well."

"No I haven't." I replied. "I broke down. I couldn't take it and I let go. If that had happened at the wrong moment then I would be dead right now."

"I don't want to hear that coming from you again." He told me with raised brows. "You were safe and you had the people you love around you. A bad thing happened and you reacted to it. You were wonderful. Then you didn't have to be and you let go. The best of us do."

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"You are stronger then you think." He smiled.

"Sometimes I believe that." I told him.

"You should believe it all the time." He said and hugged me again.

Taking a deep breath, I took control of my tears, continuing to smile at him. "How's Jim?" I asked. He had been bitten during the attack, only it came to light after the excitement had died off. Now he lay in the RV, awaiting the inevitable.

"He's hanging in there." Dale replied with a happy tone but I knew he was as miserable as the rest of us. "Seems to be in high spirits."

"I'm sure he is." I smiled sadly.

"And Becca?" He asked.

"I honestly don't think she's going to last long." I replied.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I think she's going to want to get it over with as soon as she can."

Dale just looked at me before running his hand down my hair. "It'll all work out."

"I know. God has a plan, right?" I asked.

"Right." He smiled and tapped his finger on my nose.

Thanking him again, I hugged him before moving on to find Rebecca. I ended up finding her at the quarry, sitting alone amongst the rocks.

"Hey." I said sitting next to her.

"Hey." She replied smiling as Echo mauled her with her tongue.

"Thinking?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said looking at me.

"Have you decided anything?"

"Yeah." She replied but didn't go any further.

"You're going to kill yourself, aren't you?" I asked even though I already knew it to be true.

"I don't want to become one of them." She told me. "And I will not make you all watch me die and turn. It's not going to happen."

I nodded as tears filled my eyes, "I thought it might come to that." Echo whined and gently licked my chin.

"I'll do it myself. I would never ask any of you to do it." She said quickly.

"I know you wouldn't." I smiled at her, taking her hand in mine. "I know. It's just…I don't want you to die." I said as a tear slid down my cheek.

"I don't want to die either." She said with a big grin on her face. "But I want to _really_ die. I don't want to walk the world forever as a shell of myself. I'm going to die, _really _die, and I'm going to do it on my terms."

"I understand, Becca." I told her. "I'm just going to be sad about it for a while."

"That's okay." She replied. "Just as long as you're not sad for too long."

"I'll try." I said and hugged her.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked.

"Of course." I told her.

"Look after Lex for me." She said sadly. "She's going to take it pretty hard."

"I promise." I smiled, gently playing with her hair. "I'll keep her safe."

"Thank you." She smiled back, hugging me again.

"When…" I asked and trailed off. "When do you plan on…?"

"Tonight at sunset." She replied. "Everyone is going to be moving on now that the walkers have been to camp. I'll help everyone pack today and then make sure there's a hole for me. I'll say my goodbyes and then I'll take care of it."

"Okay." I told her.

"Okay?" She asked skeptically.

"I'm not going to fight you on this." I replied. "There's no stopping it and I understand your reasons. I'd want the same if it were me."

"Chris would never let you." She grinned. "He'd keep you till the end and then take care of you himself. Just like Andrea did for Amy."

"I know." I smiled. "But it would be against my wishes."

"He wouldn't give you a choice." She stated. I nodded at her, knowing she was right. "Hold on to him, Caroline. He's one of the special ones."

"I know. I'll never let him go."

"Good." She said squeezing my hand. "Oh, and I've asked Daryl to take care of burying me. I don't want you or the others to have to worry about it."

"We can take care of our own." I frowned at her.

"I know. But he's already said yes and I don't want you worrying about it because I know that it would be _you_ who worries about it."

"You shouldn't be thinking about my worrying right now." I frowned at her.

"Yeah, well, I'm thinking about everything right now." She said and nudged me with her shoulder.

"Come on." I said and stood, holding out my hand to her. "Come help me pack."

Together with Lex we packed up all of our things. Rebecca made sure to go through her things; jokingly we fought over her clothes since she wasn't going to need them anymore. There was another tearful moment when she handed Lex and I each something that meant something to her. She handed me a locket necklace. Opening it up, she had already put a picture of Chris and one of herself inside of it.

"When did you do this?" I asked.

"I had some old photos and I found the best one I could of Chris and one of myself and put it inside." She replied with a smile. "You're the fighter and I wanted you to be able to remember me so I made it very much travel size. It was my great grandmother's."

"Thank you." I forced through my clenched throat, hugging her tightly before placing a kiss against her cheek. "I'll take good care of it."

"And here." Rebecca said turning to Lex.

Trying to hide my sobs, I watched Lex flip through a thin picture book full of pictures they had taken over the years. They laughed and cried together while I sobbed and watched them. Then we shared a group hug before lightening the mood as we continued to pack our things and disperse Rebecca's. It was bittersweet but we all had come to terms with what was going to happen. There was no stopping it. There was just dealing with it.

"Here." I told Rebecca as I handed her a nice cold beer after we were done packing, sitting around a crackling fire.

"Thank you." She smiled.

I handed Lex hers before I sat down, heaving a heavy sigh. Dangling my arm over the edge of the chair, I played with Echo's longer neck fur. We were mostly quiet as we sat with each other. Just enjoying the time we had left. Whatever we had to say had been said and now it was just a matter of time before she went through with her plan.

"Hey." Chris said coming up from behind me, his hands gently squeezing my shoulders.

"Hey." I smiled up at him.

"You got a minute?" He asked gently.

"Of course." I said and stood, telling Echo to stay before I followed him as he stepped away from our little group. "Is everything okay?"

"Have you tried talking her out of it?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Of course I have." I said doing the same. "But we both know that, when it comes to something she sets her mind on, she outdoes us when it comes to being stubborn and she is set on doing this. Neither of us, or Lex, or anybody else, is going to change her mind."

He shifted his weight as he tried to think of some way to counter that. He couldn't. He knew as well as I did that it was going to happen. There were no words to make it better. Looking at him I could see the glisten come to his eyes. Nodding at him, I stepped closer to him, putting my hand on his face.

"I know, baby. I know." I said and kissed him before wrapping my arms around his neck.

He held me tight, a slight quiver in his throat as he took several deep breaths. "So much has been lost." He whispered in my ear.

Tears sprang to my eyes and I gripped him tighter. "I know. But there has been good too." I said releasing him with a smile. "I have you back." He nodded but he still was attempting to keep control. "It's going to be okay." I said putting one hand on his chest, taking his hand with the other. "We'll make it through this just like we have since all of this started."

"Okay." He said and nodded.

"My poor sensitive man." I said sweetly to him.

"Hey, I'm a strong manly man…who isn't afraid of getting in touch with his sensitive side." He corrected.

"Whatever you say, baby." I smiled kissing him deeply. "Now get a beer and come join us. The sun will be setting soon and then we'll be out of time."

He nodded and held tight to my hand as we rejoined the expanding group around the fire. Sitting next to each other, I held tight to his hand, trailing my fingers up and down the underside of his forearm, the skin smooth and soft. It was enough to keep him calm as well as a distraction for me as the minutes ticked by, bringing us closer and closer to when we'd have to say goodbye to our friend.

"I just want to thank you all, so much, for the time we've had together." Rebecca told us.

"No need for talk like that." Dale told her.

"Yes there is." She smiled. "It's time." She said standing. "I just wanted to say thank you. I think everything else that needs to be said has been said."

Standing, I looked at Lex, holding my hand out to her. She let go of Finn's hand, taking mine as she stood. We both gave each other a weak smile before we looked at Rebecca. She smiled and we all turned into the woods. No one else followed. The three of us walked till we were on the far side of the quarry. It was far enough away that no one could hear us but the shot would echo to tell them that it was done. The sunset was as beautiful as it ever was. The colors lighting the evening sky.

"Well, this is it." She smiled as she turned to us.

"We love you, Becca." I told her sadly as I pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Very much." Lex added doing the same.

"You have been the best friends anyone could ever ask for." She told us as tears slid down her cheeks, her body warm from the fever that had set in.

Stepping away from us, we all stood in a small triangle and simply looked at each other, smiling as best we could. The sun had dipped even lower by the time Rebecca stepped away, pulling her gun from the back of her pants. She turned toward the sun, a smile on her face. Lex and I stepped back, wanting to give her space. Cocking the gun, she looked back at us, smiled, before looking back at the sunset, raising the gun, and shooting herself through the temple. I jumped while Lex screamed her despair, falling to her knees as we watched Rebecca's body fall to the side. It was horrific. After witnessing it, I couldn't remember why we decided to go with her. Why we wanted to be there at the very end. But we did…and we were. She deserved our love and support and that's what we gave her. Tears were streaming as I pulled Lex to her feet and we started our walk back to camp. We were half way back when we saw Daryl walking toward us. We all stopped and looked at each other before continuing on our separate ways. He would take care of her. We'd done our part and we were going to let him do what she asked of him. No matter what we thought about it. We were just outside of camp when we saw Chris and Finn running toward us. Both of us started to break down at the site of them. Both of us breaking into a run to reach them.

"Linny." Chris said as he caught me in his arms.

"It was horrible." I sobbed into him. "It was so horrible."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so very sorry." He said and I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Please don't ever leave me." I told him urgently. "If I have to live in this world…" I said but couldn't go on.

"I know." He said quickly. " I know, baby. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here." He said pulling away far enough to take my head in his hands. "You can't go anywhere either." Only able to shake my head, I threw my arms around his neck, continuing to cry into him.

As the tears slowed, we finally made our way back to camp. For a moment I didn't know what was worse; just having lost my friend or the looks on everyone's faces as we walked past them. Chris walked me past everyone and to our tent, zipping the door behind us. As soon as he let go of me I fell to my knees, the tears renewing now that I was alone. Chris's arm enveloped me again and I turned into him, muffling my sobs in his shirt. Without the eyes of the others Chris didn't try and quiet me or to do anything but comfort me with just being there. That's what I needed. I needed to grieve and just needed my husband. The world has gone to shit and now the people I cared the most about are starting to die. It was only a matter of time before someone else died. But right now, in this moment, I made a silent vow to myself that I would to anything I had to, to protect the people I care about. But with Chris's heartbeat thumping in my ear, I knew that he would come first. But as long as he was safe, I'd make sure the others were too.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead.**

**A/N: This story has not gotten much notice. A review or two would be much appreciated so I know if it's going in the right direction that is holding interest and everything. I'm obsessed with TWD and it saddens me that my story isn't very recognized. I haven't had a review in ages so maybe one to just hold me over for another half dozen chapters or so would me super awesome! And not too much to ask I don't think...right? Right?**

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_**Chapter Eleven**_

When morning came, I woke up to gentle caressing on my face. My eyes felt puffy as I slowly opened them. Chris smiled at me, leaning over and placing a long kiss on my forehead. He was lying on his side, his chest pressed against mine. Smiling back at him, I rolled onto my side, putting my arm around him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked sweetly.

"Tired." I replied. "And sad."

He nodded and kissed me deeply. "It'll get better."

"I know." I smiled up at him. "What time is it?"

"It's still early. Not many are up yet." He replied, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"Okay." I said and sat up.

"You should sleep for a little while longer." He said doing the same.

"Now that I'm awake I won't be able to sleep anymore." I told him. "My mind is already swimming with too many thoughts."

"I'll help quiet them." He whispered as he pushed the hair away from my neck, placing several gentle kisses against my skin.

Smiling, I turned and met his lips with mine. Lying back, pulling him with me, I kissed him passionately as I held his head in my hands. His hands gripped my sides under my shirt as he kissed me harder. Moving my hands to his chest, feeling firmness run along the inside of my thigh, I unbuttoned my pants, hearing his breathing accelerate. Unbuttoning his as soon as mine were down, I took his head in my hands, meeting his eyes. For a moment we just looked at each other before he kissed me as he slid his member inside of me. I moaned softly as my lips moved urgently against his. Soon our bodies were laced with sweat as the tent heated up. He was good to his word. My mind settled and for a few minutes it was just me and him. His smell flooding my senses, his breath washing over me. For those few minutes I didn't think about everything I had lost. I didn't think about the uncertainty of what was to come. If it took sex to find an ounce of peace then I wanted to stay in this tent forever.

"Chris? Caroline?" Conner's voice interrupted, making us freeze.

"Be right out." Chris said quickly.

Looking at each other we both started to laugh. He slowly moved to his knees, redoing his pants. Smiling at him, I did the same before I rolled to my hands and knees. We made sure everything was packed and ready to go before we rolled up the sleeping bags and hauled everything out. The morning air was sweet and crisp, taking a deep breath of it. We took down the tent and packed it neatly away with all of our other belongings. Loading everything over our shoulder and in our arms we went to join the rest of the camp. As everyone came into view it seemed like we were already segregated. People whispering as they stood by cars. Others huddled together, watching everyone else with suspicion.

"Caroline." Dale said stepping up to me. "Let me take that." He said taking the things from my arms.

"Dale, you don't have to do that." I told him.

"I'll just put it in the RV." He smiled and walked away.

Smiling after him, I looked at Chris before following, seeing Echo sitting by the door. He took the rest of our things and stowed it away in the RV without saying a word about it. It seemed he had decided this earlier and wasn't going to let me say otherwise.

"Thank you." I told him, stroking Echo's head. "But we were thinking about finding our own car."

"That's not necessary." He replied shaking his head. "There is plenty of room in here and the fewer the cars the better. We have a limited supply of gas as it is."

"I don't want to burden you." I told him.

"Don't be ridiculous." He frowned. "Besides, it's not just for me."

"Andrea?" I said softly.

"She needs support and I can't give her everything she needs." He confided.

"Okay." I smiled putting my hand on his cheek. "Thank you."

"How are you holding up?" He asked taking my hand from his face, holding it in his own.

"I'm okay." I replied. "Not good. But I'll be okay."

"Rebecca was a sweet girl. I'm very sorry for the loss of your people."

"Thank you, Dale. It could've been worse. Both groups lost good people."

"But we still have each other." Chris said coming up behind me. "Thank you, Dale. For everything." He said holding out his hand.

Dale simply smiled and took it. "You are most welcome."

Stepping out of the RV it seemed like something had been decided. "What's going on?" I asked Rick.

"We're heading to the CDC." He replied. "Some have decided to set out on their own."

Nodding, I met his eyes. "We're with you." I told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked shifting as he put his hands on his hips.

"I'm positive." I told him. "I agree with you."

"Thank you." He nodded at me.

Smiling, I noticed Conner standing just far enough to be separate from the group. "Hey." I said walking up to him. "You're coming with us, right?" I asked.

"Of course." He told me.

"Us too." Finn added as he and Lex stepped up to us. "We're not splitting the group up now."

"Good." I smiled and put my arm around Lex, leaning my head against hers.

"What about the horses?" Conner asked.

"We can't just leave them." Lex added.

I hadn't really thought about it. We had no trailer. No way of transporting them. We probably would be able to find something along the way but who knew how long it would take. There was no way to have them follow the cars. The only sure way of taking them with would be to ride them. It was looking bleak for them. But I wasn't willing to leave them behind either.

"Chris?" I said turning to him.

"We can ride." He suggested.

"That's the only thing that I can think of." I told him.

"Wait a minute." Dale said joining the group. "You are not going out there on your own."

"Dale, we're just thinking of options." I told him gently.

"Just let them go. They survived months on their own. They can do it again." He told me slightly on the defensive side.

"Dale, we're just talking about it." Lex told him as softly as she could.

"What's going on?" Rick asked joining us next.

"We're deciding on what to do with the horses." I told him.

"It'll be hard to take them with us." Rick confirmed our own thoughts.

"We were thinking about riding them." I told him.

"No. I don't like that idea." He said shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving them behind, Rick." I stated. "I'm just not doing it. Tayla was Becca's horse. Sunny was Tym's. They are the last connection we have to the people we lost. Wouldn't you want to hold on to that?" I asked him with a small frown. He just looked at me. "Chris and I will ride, leading the others. We'll try and find a truck and trailer along the way. If you have a spare map, we'd appreciate it so we don't get lost. But this is the plan." I told him. "It might not be the right plan but it's the one we're making. Not to mention the fact that they don't require gas, they might be very useful in the future."

"Christian?" Rick said looking at my husband.

"I'm with her." He said without hesitation.

"The vet." Rick said and smiled.

"It's in my blood." Chris smiled at him.

"Linny, don't." Lex said putting her hand on my arm.

"You'll be fine." I smiled at her. "Dale? You'll look out for them, right?" I asked him.

"Of course." He said but was clearly unhappy with the decision.

"You know what? I have a different idea." Conner said crossing his arms.

"Which is?" I frowned at him.

"_I_ go with Chris and you stay with Dale in the RV." He told me.

"No." I frowned. "It might seem ridiculous but I'm not leaving my husband."

"Yeah, Conner. I'm sorry, man, but I'm not leaving her either." Chris told him.

"Okay." He smiled and walked away.

"Conner…" I called after him but he'd been shot down again. At some point we would need to have a long talk. Get everything out in the open and worked out.

"Everything okay?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, it'll be fine." Chris said running his fingers through his hair.

"It's done then." I replied and walked away to find the saddles.

The horses were tied where they usually were, as relaxed as ever. Rubbing Nixon's neck, I started saddling him up.

"No one is very happy with us right now." Chris said as he joined me.

"I know." I told him. "Good thing they aren't in charge of me."

"We're all one group now." He stated. "I was with them for weeks before you found me. Both groups are family now."

"I understand that." I told him, looking at him over Nixon's back.

"Then what is it?" He asked. "You're acting awfully defiant." He shot at me.

"Listen, I haven't been with this group very long. But I do care about them. A lot." I stated. "My only problem is that when I thought you were dead and then Peter died, I was the one left in charge. It should have been Conner but instead they looked to me. I hated it. I hated it but I made decisions and I protected our group. The one that you left. And now everyone wants me to back down and listen to Shane or to Rick. I guess I'm having trouble relinquishing the little bit of control that I had. I was the leader of our group and now everyone is telling me that I don't have to be. But I will always think of what's best for the people we started out with. The new mixes with the old and I will welcome them into my little protective bubble, but I still feel responsible for them."

"Then be a part of the team. You don't need to lead anyone. Rick is not Shane. He'll listen and compromise. You never wanted to lead." He frowned at me. "You were perfectly willing to let me and your brother do it. So it passed to you and you seem to have embraced it. But you were never supposed to have it. But Conner never wanted it. He always stayed on the sidelines. Always waited to see what Peter and I would do and do the opposite or whatever was needed _after_ we had made a mistake. Why do you think he was always the good guy growing up? We'd make the mistake and he'd be the one swooping in with the right answer. It's just the way he is."

"Is that why he said you were dead then? Why he waited till Peter was dead? He came _swooping_ in to stake his claim when no one else was left?" I shot back at him. "You never came back so I guess all the competition was gone so he could say all the right things, do all the right things, just too finally get what he wanted. Is that it? And now that I'm thinking of it, why didn't you wait for me? Why did you just take off? Conner said you were dead but he knew there was a chance that you were still alive. But when we got back you weren't there. I waited for you to walk through the door. To show up one day and tell me that you were lying low in order to survive. But you never came." I said shaking my head at him, trying to swallow the emotion that had risen in my throat. "Then we come here and I find out that you were alive. So why didn't you wait for me? Why didn't you go back home?"

"I did go back home." He shot back. "I went home and none of you were there. I waited for days and you still didn't come home. I had no choice but the think the worst. I wasn't going to stay there where we had lived. Where our memories and pictures were. It was too painful. I thought that you were all dead. After another day or so I finally decided to leave, taking only what I needed. I even went back into the city and that's where I ran into Glenn. He took me to the others and I was incorporated into the group." He said and before looking at me sadly. "I couldn't accept that you were gone. I couldn't deal with it. So I left."

"I couldn't deal with it either." I told him with the same tone. "There is a gap, days long, that I don't remember because I was grieving you."

"And you don't think it was the same for me?" He shot back.

"I'm not saying it wasn't. I –" I started but he stopped me, putting his hands on the sides of my head.

"I've cried myself to sleep every night since we were separated. Right up until you found me in that dumpster. Night was always the hardest. It's quiet and I'd hear your voice and smell your perfume. Even hear that damn dog barking and walking back and forth. It didn't matter that I had found these people. All I wanted was you."

For a moment I just looked at him before slamming my lips to his, kissing him deeply. "That's all I wanted too." I told him.

"I love you." He told me as he gently ran his hand down my hair.

"I love you more." I smiled.

"Not possible." He smiled before kissing me passionately.

"Why are we even fighting?" I asked him calmly.

"I don't know." He told me, signing heavily, taking his hands from my head before taking my hands in his large strong ones. "I don't know."

"We hardly ever fight and this trip is going to be very long if we can't get along." I stated.

"We're married. We're supposed to fight. It keeps our emotions in check." He said trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry." I sighed.

"I'm sorry too." He said putting his hand on my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said sweetly and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You are the best husband I've ever had."

Smiling, he gently sucked on my lower lip. "I'm the _only_ husband you'll _ever_ have."

"You have a point there." I smiled before kissing him deeply. "Can we not fight anymore?"

"It was hardly a fight as it is. Don't even remember it." He replied.

"You should remember it." I told him with a raised brow. "It's going to come up again."

"Okay." He said and kissed me again.

Helping me saddle the horses, we went about gathering enough supplies in case we were separated from the group for very long. If we rode almost nonstop, we'd be able to keep up pretty well. Short breaks were a necessity and we'd have to sleep in shifts, but we'd keep going. I'd be anxious to meet back up with the group. It seemed we didn't have a single supporter. Lex didn't want to leave the horses behind but she hated that Chris and I were going to be branching out for a while. But it wasn't permanent. We'd all be together just a few days from now. Rick and Chris had already mapped out what route they would be taking and another through the woods that we and the horses would take. It was a good plan. Despite what everyone else thought about it.

"Okay, we should get going. A little bit of a head start will be nice." I told Dale as I shifted my weight uneasily in front of him.

"I don't like this." He told me.

"You don't have to like it." I told him gently. "And it's not something I want to do. I just feel obligated to them."

"The world's changed. You shouldn't feel so obligated." He countered.

"I know." I smiled at him. "But just because the world has gone to shit doesn't mean I have to change everything I am."

He nodded but it was clear that there was no changing his mind. I couldn't blame him. If roles had been reversed I'd probably be thinking the same thing. If Finn and Lex had decided to ride then I would have put a stop to it any way that I could. So it was understandable but at the same time I was stubborn and there was no stopping me.

"Can I ask you one last favor?" I asked him.

"Only one more?" He asked looking at me through his eyebrows.

Smiling, I nodded, knowing it wouldn't be the last. "Can you look after Echo for me? She needs more stability and she's really good company. I've already made her a little care kit. It's under the table."

"Assuming I'll say yes?" He smiled.

"I know you like her." I smiled back. "It would mean a lot."

"Of course." He said and bent down to pet the dog.

"Thank you." I told him before squatting in front of her. "You be good, ya hear? Listen to Dale and be sure to keep your eyes and ears open."

She lifted her paw, putting it in my hand. She was such a good dog. Smiling, I kissed her muzzle before I stood up and told her to go into the RV. As soon as she was out of site, I gave Dale a quick hug before turning away.

"Just be careful." Rick told me as he walked me back to the horses. "Here." He said as he handed me a map. "I've already marked the roads you should take, circling certain sections of wood that you can easily cross on horseback. It'll save you time. We might make it to the CDC at around the same time. We'll wait for you just outside the city so we can all go in together."

"Okay." I told him as I listened.

"Chris and I have already gone over it and it's a solid plan. The best one we have if you still plan on going through with this."

"I really do." I told him.

"We don't have any way to communicate with you so you have to meet us." He said caringly.

"We'll be there." I smiled at him. "I promise we'll be there."

"Good." He smiled. "It'd be a shame if we lost you now."

"Thank you, Rick." I smiled and put my arms around his neck. "Thank you so much."

"Thank you, Linny." He smiled back.

"What could you possibly be thanking me for?" I asked with a raised brow.

"For being a kind, loving person. For helping Lori." He said and placed a quick kiss against my forehead.

"I'll be seeing you soon." I smiled at him before looking at Chris who was holding the reins.

It took only a few more minutes to get into the saddle and move off. We started out on the road, following it down to the highway before we pushed off into the woods. As soon as the horses were warmed up, we pushed them forward into a steady canter, weaving through the trees as we bypassed miles of road. It would be quicker this way then if we were in cars. It would hopefully give us enough time to never be too far in front of or behind the others.

"Hey!" Chris called and I slowed Nixon at the sound of his voice. "Let's give them a rest." He said as I trotted back to him.

"Okay." I said as we started a nice walk. "I think I might actually like traveling like this better than in cars. The weather is beautiful. I'm with my favorite person. Horses are awesome." I said and smiled at my husband.

He smiled and shook his head, leaning toward me. Kissing him quickly, he held onto my hand as we meandered through the woods. "It's so quiet." He whispered.

"I like it." I said looking up into the trees.

"Let's stop for a bit and water the horses." Chris said as he pulled Shadowfax to a stop.

"Sounds good." I told him as I stood in the stirrups, throwing my leg over his back as I slowly lowered myself to the ground. "My butt could use a rest anyway."

"Are you telling me that Caroline Bennet has lost her able-ness to ride?" He grinned at me sarcastically.

"No!" I groaned at him. "I'm just out of practice."

"You've been riding for days now." He commented.

"Yes, but I've only ran once and it was a short distance. We've pushed these guys pretty hard today." I whined at him.

"Fine." He said wrapping his arms around me. "You're off the hook."

"Really?" I pouted, ever so slightly pushing out my bottom lip.

He just looked at me before crashing his lips against mine. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, nearly causing it to bleed. My stomach flipped with the butterflies he still managed to cause inside of me. It only seemed to intensify with time. I remember being a young fifteen year old, feeling those butterflies every time he looked at me.

As his tongue slipped into my mouth, I remembered the first time we kissed. It was fall, my brother and his two best friends had gone to the old mansion in the woods. It had been abandoned for years. They used it as a place to hang out and do whatever it was that they did. They had left me out again. I'd been with friends but when they left I couldn't help but want to join my brother. He was my best friend but it seemed like only when he wasn't with his friends. When he was with Christian and Conner he had to be the macho man. He couldn't just be the kind big brother who was always looking out for me. So when I showed up, he got pissed off, saying all these mean things he normally wouldn't say to me. Being the young fifteen-year-old I was I broke down, crying as I fled the mansion. Only Christian came after me. He stopped me after I'd reached the tree line, broken beams of sunlight shining through the trees. He had put his hands on my arms, gently coaxing me to look at him with his charm. I'd liked him for years. Never really being able to place it until then. Knowing I felt a connection to him but not understanding it. The butterflies were fluttering in my stomach. But while we stood in those trees, looking at each other, he gently stepped up to me, lowering his head to me until his lips touched mine. For a moment it was gentle, then it became hard and passionate. In that moment I fell in love with him. In that moment everything made sense.

This moment felt very much like that, even the beams of sunlight were shining through the trees. When the kiss finally ended, I was left breathless, both of us looking at each other like we had that day. With love that would last a lifetime. A love that had lasted the end of the world.

"I love you." I whispered to him.

"I love you too." He whispered back. "Love is too small a word for how I feel about you."

Grinning at him, I kissed him again. "That never gets old."

Smiling we kissed for several more minutes before finally returning our attention to the reason we stopped in the first place. The horses were quite thirsty but we made sure to ration what we had. We'd all spend less time thirsty and hungry if we didn't blow through all our supply now.

"Do you think we should go to the highway, see if the others are close?" I asked him as we mounted back up.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Maybe we can hit the jackpot and find a working truck that happens to have a horse trailer attached to it."

"We can hope." I smiled at him.

Leaning over, we kissed before starting out again. Chris used the map, leading us back to the main highway. Once we were there, we moved down the road at a steady pace. I was afraid the sound of the horses hooves would bring walkers about, but we could easily outrun any that appeared. When we came around the bend, instead of walkers, we saw the caravan stopped on the side of the road. Looking at Chris, we moved the horses into a run, stopping at the rear and tied them up.

"Rick!" I called as I jogged over to him.

"Caroline." He said and hugged me briefly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's Jim." He told me.

Running to the RV, Dale was standing outside of it. He looked like he was struggling with something. Without saying a word, I put my arms around his neck. Hugging me tightly, I gave him what little comfort I could. Jim was a good friend of his and I knew how much it hurt to lose a good friend. Letting him go, nodding, I went into the RV. In the rear of it Jim was lying on the bed, slowly dying from the fever that was going to take his life. It appeared he had started vomiting blood and judging from the looks of things was becoming hyper sensitive to any stimulation. He jumped with pain when my fingertips touched his wrist.

"Hi, Jim." I smiled as I relieved Carol. Taking a cloth I gently dabbed the sweat from his forehead. "You hanging in there?"

"Not really." He smiled at me.

"I'm so sorry." I told him.

"Linny." Chris said from behind me.

Looking at him, I nodded before following him from the RV. "What is it?" I asked him.

"We're taking him out." Shane said as he passed us.

"Shane…" I frowned but there was no stopping him. "Chris!" I said turning to him as I put my hands on the sides of my head.

"It'll be okay." He told me.

Jim was taking from the RV, being set up against a tree. I had seen enough. It made me nervous to be so close to the virus. So close to death that you could practically feel it. Chris stood with me as we watched the others who knew him talk to him, and ultimately, say their goodbyes.

"Another one." I said as I watched. "How many do we have to lose before it's enough?"

"I don't know, baby." He said and placed a kiss in my hair. "I don't know."

"Alright, we're moving on." Rick said as he stepped up to us, letting the others finish their goodbyes.

"You're just leaving him here?" I asked.

"It's what he wants." He nodded. "We need to respect his wishes."

Nodding, I ran my fingers through my hair. The look on his face made me think that he was blaming himself for Jim's untimely death. For what happened in the camp. It wasn't his fault. He didn't bring it on. If anything he saved us. Without the gun power he provided we would have lost even more of our group. He was the reason we were all alive.

"This isn't your fault." I told him.

"If I hadn't left. If I hadn't…" He started and trailed off. "Maybe we wouldn't have lost as many people as we did."

"If you hadn't left and brought back those guns then we could've lost even more." I stated. "It was bad luck."

"No." He said shaking his head. "We think Merle had something to do with what happened. The truck we had driven there disappeared. That's why it took so long to get back. We think he loaded it with walkers and let them loose in our woods."

"Why would he do that?" I asked breathlessly.

"Because he's a crazy son-of-a-bitch." Chris said, venom coating his words.

"He's dangerous." Rick added.

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked.

"We don't even know where he is." Rick stated. "We've left and if I never see him again it'll be too soon." Nodding again, I looked up at Chris. He gave me a small smile, pulling me into him. "We should go." Rick stated as he walked back to his car, a weight clearly on his shoulders.

Not wanting to leave yet, Chris and I turned to the RV, going back inside. Walking to the back, I looked at the setup they had for Jim. Sighing, I started to clean everything up. A sadness seeping into me. Chris didn't say anything. He simply helped. We were just pulling the used sheets off of the bed when Dale came back inside, Echo at his side. She came and greeted me with a lick to my hand. Smiling, I gently stroked her head.

"You two didn't need to do that. I would've taken care of it." He told us gently.

"We know. We wanted to do it." I replied sadly, rolling the sheet up.

"It's okay." Dale said gently taking it from me. "I've got it."

"I just want to help." I told him as tears filled my eyes.

"You've helped more than you think." He smiled and ran his hand down the side of my head before stepping past me.

Putting his hand on Christian's shoulder, he nodded. Chris nodded back and put his arm around me. Leading me to the table, he gently sat me down before sitting across from me, taking my hands in his. A few silent tears fell before my eyes could dry. Dale returned to the front of the RV just a few minutes later. Carol and Sophia came on, seeing the pain in my face before going to the bedroom. Andrea took the passenger seat, glancing back at us. Connor coming on next, sitting in the space between the two front seats, taking Andrea's hand as she placed it on his shoulder. Glenn was the last on board and just looked at me sadly before sitting next to me. He took one of my hands from Chris, heaving a heavy sigh. We just sat together as we moved forward. We couldn't get to the CDC fast enough. It was the one thing we could cling onto for the answers we all wanted. An answer to what happened and if it was ever going to stop.

"What are you thinking?" Chris asked me.

"I'm thinking that life sucks." I told him depressingly.

"It doesn't all suck." Glenn told me. I looked at him skeptically. "You found Chris didn't you?"

"You have me there." I smiled, gently rubbing Chris's hand with my thumb. He lifted my hand to his lips, placing a kiss against my fingers. "You have me there."

"See?" Glenn smiled.

"Thank you." I smiled putting an arm around his neck, pulling him to me so I could place a kiss against his cheek. "You are one of the good ones."

"No, I'm not." He said blushing slightly.

"You really are." I smiled and rested the side of my head against his, smiling at my beautiful husband across from me.

We sat only a few minutes longer before decided to head out again. People were still with Jim outside. I'm sure they'd be on their way shortly, making Chris and I eager to get a head start. The CDC was close. We'd be there before nightfall if we kept up a good pace.

"Are you going to wait for us or just go straight there?" I asked Rick. "I'm not sure how we're going to make sure we're all together if we're behind you. And I'm not sure how we're going to get the horses inside. What if they won't let us?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes." He told me. "As for waiting, the plan hasn't changed, we'll wait just outside of the city and all go in together. You shouldn't be too far behind us if you keep cutting through the woods. As long as you don't come across any trouble we should get there around the same time."

"Sounds good." I nodded at him.

"Stay safe." He told me, hugging me before shaking Christian's hand.

"You too, Rick." Chris told him. "Let's go." He said putting his hand on my neck, kissing my hair as we walked back to the horses.

Mounting up, we started out at a brisk trot before we left the main road and started through the woods. As soon as the group leveled out we were at a run again. Bypassing miles of road on our way to the CDC. According to the map we could easily make it there before or just after the others. The cars were faster but on horseback we were saving a lot more time than we had originally thought.

"Do you think we're close?" I asked as we slowed to give the horses a short rest.

"I hope so." Chris replied. "The sun is getting lower and I'll feel a lot better once we're inside the CDC."

"You think they'll let us in?" I asked.

"Don't doubt it now. We're already on our way there. We can't change our mind now." He told me.

"I know. It's just…" I started and shrugged at him.

Sighing, he nodded at me. "I know, Caroline. But they'll let us in and will help us. I know it."

"Ever the optimist." I smiled at him.

"I try." He smiled back.

We shared the smile for several minutes, just happy to be with each other. There was something so normal about it that I was almost okay with it all. But with all good things, in this world of ours, they never lasted long.

"What is that?" I asked as an odd noise caught my ear.

"What is what?" Chris asked.

"Shh." I said shortly, holding my hand up to him.

We both stopped and listened. It was definitely a moan. A walker moan. Standing in the stirrups, I turned just in time to see him out of the corner of my eye. My gun was raised and a bullet was in its head before it made another step.

"Let's go." I said looking at Chris.

He simply nodded and we were running again. Weaving through trees, jumping logs, making way as fast as we could. The trees were well spaced, giving us a good view of our surroundings. When they got too thick we tried to move around them, otherwise pushing through them, one of us always keeping a close eye out for any walkers. Once the map told us we were close we made our way to the highway. I hoped the others were already there. Waiting would make me impatient and I didn't want to be stationary for very long. It only would attract walkers and I wanted to save as much ammo as we could.

"They're not here yet." I stated as we were just a mile or so outside of the city.

"They'll be here." Chris said as his eyes moved back and forth.

After a few minutes we sat facing opposite directions, making sure the coast was clear. My mind was reeling with possibilities. All the 'what if' questions popping into my head.

"I don't like it." I told Chris, starting to get anxious.

"Linny, they'll be here." He replied softly as he took my hand.

"Chris…" I said and looked at him. His eyes met mine, telling him everything that I needed to know without saying a word. "Okay." I smiled and nodded.

The words had barely left my lips when I heard a motorcycle in the distance. Heaving a heavy sigh of relief, I smiled as Daryl was the first to appear. The others were right behind him.

"They're here." I grinned at Chris.

"Told you." He smiled and leaned toward me.

"Yes, you are always right." I laughed and kissed him deeply.


	12. Chapter Twelve

_**Chapter Twelve**_

Relief was an understatement as the group drew nearer. Daryl lifted his chin at us as he slowly rolled by. All the others acknowledged us but we didn't stop as we continued on our way. Now that we were all together, the risk of attracting walkers to us was ever increasing. Stopping was too big a risk so it only made sense that we didn't stop for a proper reunion, despite the need for reassurance now that we were all back together.

Despite being on horses, Chris and I kept up with the cars well. All of us were beyond eager to find a sense of security. Find a safe haven for us to thrive in.

"We're here." Chris said as the cars slowed to a stop.

"God I hope someone is in there." I said softly, more to myself then to anyone else, as I looked at the building.

It would have been impressive if its lawn wasn't littered with the dead, sandbags piled with dead soldiers who tried to save the building. At first glance we couldn't see any walkers. Rick and Shane were the first out of the cars. Conner and Andrea came out of the RV ahead of everyone else. Chris and I remained on the horses, leading them toward the door behind the others. Everyone was cautious grouping together as we made our way to the doors. We were half way there when walkers started to rise from the ground. Chris and I stopped the horses, turning and using the silencers to quietly dispose of them.

"Stay close to me." Chris told me.

"Don't worry, I will." I replied.

We stayed just slightly behind as we continued to take care of the walkers. It was the quickest and quietest way of killing them and drawing the least amount of attention to ourselves. However, things could never go that smoothly. Chris and I were looking in all directions, thinking we missed none, when Tayla's panicked screams came from the end of the line of horses. My head whipped around to see a walker digging into her flank. Before I could get a shot off, someone else shot it, a loud bang giving away our position, before shooting the horse in the head, silencing her pained cries. Turning to the door, I saw Shane attempting to pull Rick away from it. We were wrong to come here. No one was here to help us. We truly were alone.

Glenn yelled my name as the walkers flocked to the dead horse. Shadowfax was in between the dead horse and Nixon and me. She was still tied to us. Forcing the horses to attempt to drag her as we tried to get away. Glenn rushed forward and cut the rope before darting away from the growing walker numbers.

"We need to move." Chris told me as we backed the horses closer to the group.

I could hear the nervousness in his voice. "We're not leaving the others."

"I know. I'm just saying that if no one is here then we need to move. The sun is setting. Walkers are going to be littering this yard." He replied.

"I know." I said looking at him.

There was yelling behind us as we kept firing at the walkers. Rick was having a breakdown. The others were yelling at them that we should get out of here. Just as it seemed like the group was going to fall apart, the doors opened and a white light blinded us. Sunny reared, but Chris quickly calmed him as the door finished opening and our eyes adjusted to the light. It took only a moment longer before everyone moved inside, guns at the ready. As soon as everyone was in, Chris and I turned the horses inside, moving them across the lobby as the doors started to come down. As soon as I heard the door seal, Chris and I dismounted and looked at the others. Echo joined us and I quickly greeted her before we kept watch as we tried to see who opened the door.

"Hello?" Rick called out into the building.

"Close those doors. Watch for walkers." Shane said and T-Dog and Glenn moved to do what he said.

We all looked around the building. Waiting for whomever it was that let us in. Stepping up to the large CDC sign in front of the main doors, staring at it, it felt like it was giving off a sense of mock comfort. Something didn't feel right.

"We're safe." Chris said as he placed a kiss in my hair as I looked at the sign.

"Hello?" Rick called again.

Chris and I whipped around, raising our guns, as we heard a foreign gun cock. A middle aged man was standing at the top of a short flight of stairs, wearing a t-shirt and sweats. A machine gun in his hands. He had blond hair, slightly disheveled, and a decent build.

"Anybody infected?" He asked us.

"One of our group was." Rick told him. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The man asked.

"A chance." Rick told him.

Something still didn't feel right. Relaxing, lowering my gun, I gripped Chris's shirt, silently telling him how nervous I was. He looked at me, lowering his gun as he wrapped his arm around my waist. Pulling me against his side, I felt him tense, my nervousness passing to him.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man replied.

"I know." Rick replied sadly.

We all looked at each other, waiting for the stranger to make the next move.

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." He told us.

"We can do that." Rick agreed.

The man walked down the steps, "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

Chris and I looked at each other before Glenn gently tugged on my arm. Looking at him, Chris and I rushed outside with him, running to the RV. We quickly gathered our things, and anyone else's, before darting back inside. Once everyone was back, the man went to the wall, swiping a pad, beeping as it came to life.

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." He spoke aloud.

The doors rattled and clanged as metal doors dropped to seal us into the building. I walked to the horses, stroking Nixon's neck as the others took a deep breath of safety. I wasn't as convinced as them. I didn't know why. I couldn't explain it. I knew that I should be happy. We were safe. There was a definite feeling of safety but…there was something else. Something in the way he looked at us. As if we were lambs to the slaughter.

"Don't think so much." Chris said as he put his hands on my arms.

"I can't help it. I always think too much." I smiled as I leaned against him.

"I'll help you make it quiet." He whispered in my ear.

"I'd like that." I smiled and turned in his arms, moving in for a kiss.

"They have to stay up here." The stranger said walking up to us.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner." He told us.

"Christian Bennet." My husband said holding out his hand.

"Caroline Bennet." I told him, shaking his hand next. "Will I be able to come up here and take care of them?"

"Yes." He told me.

"Alright then. Can I have a few minutes to set them up before you take us to wherever we're going?"

"Of course. But I don't want to stay up here." He told me. "And lead them into the conference room over there." He said gesturing. "It'll be big enough for them to move around comfortably."

"Okay." I said and quickly led them to the room he had pointed to.

Removing all of their gear, I used several small garbage cans, filling them with water and lining them up on the desk. Then I took out the small amount of food I had for them and made sure they all ate. It wasn't a lot and I knew that I would have to find an alternative for them if this was going to be long term. Or I'd have to get outside to try and gather enough grass to feed them. Both options were not something I wanted to explore too in depth, and if all else failed I'd have to be humane. Something I didn't want to think about.

"They'll be okay." Chris told me as I stood with Nixon, lingering as I stroked his neck.

"I know." I told him. "I'm just worried that we won't have enough food for them."

"We'll figure it out." He said sweetly. "Besides, if anyone was going to come up with a supplement for horses, I'm your guy."

Laughing, I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck, gently playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. He smiled at me before kissing me deeply.

"I love you." I told him.

"I love you." He said and kissed me again.

"Are you two almost finished?" Dr. Jenner's voice interrupted us.

"Yes." I told him quickly as I let my husband go. "We're coming."

Chris winked at me, taking my hand as we left, closing the door behind us before we joined the others. Jenner led us to an elevator and we all piled in. It was a bit awkward with all of us and a dog. I could only imagine what was going through Jenner's head. But at the moment, my eyes lingered on the machine gun in his hands.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked him. Apparently I wasn't the only one.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." Jenner replied before looking at Carl. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl smiled at him. Even I couldn't help but smile at him. It was nice to know that we weren't alone. There was still someone left, letting me know that the hope I was looking for was still alive. I still had my reservations about Dr. Jenner, but I was still happy to have a sense of safety. Once we were out of the elevator we followed Jenner as he led us down hallways of white brick, office doors lining both sides.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked.

"A little." She told him.

"Try not to think about it." He smiled at her.

Chris and I were at the back of the group. I was perfectly happy to be as far away from him as I could.

"What is making you so nervous?" Chris asked me quietly.

"I don't know." I told him, squeezing his hand. "Something just seems off."

"We'll talk later." He told me, placing a quick kiss in my hair.

"Yes, baby." I smiled at him.

"Until then…" He said glancing at the others. "Try and put on a happy face."

"Only for you." I smiled and leaned into him.

Jenner led us to a large room with several short workstations, two or more computers lining them. I could only assume that the blackness in the middle of the wall was some sort of screen. Being the CDC, I figured it was some high-tech something or another.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner said aloud. The lights hummed and beeped as they turned on. A large cylindrical light in the center of the room. "Welcome to zone 5."

"Where is everyone? The other doctors, the staff?" Rick asked him.

"I'm it. It's just me here." Jenner replied.

"There has to be someone else." I blurted out before I could stop myself, a knot forming in my stomach.

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked.

"She's a computer." I muttered as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them…welcome." Jenner spoke to Vi.

"Hello, guests. Welcome." Vi told us.

"I'm all that's left." He repeated. None of us could help the sad looks that spread through our group. "I'm sorry."

He didn't let it sink in too far before he was leading us on to somewhere else. Soon he led us to a classroom, gathering supplies to start the blood tests. I sat in the back of the room, waiting for my turn. Rick didn't hesitate to go first, followed by his family, Shane and so on.

"This might hurt a little." Jenner told me as he put the tourniquet on my arm.

"This isn't the first time I've had blood drawn." I replied.

"Alright then, you know the drill." He replied.

When he found my vein, he pushed a 16G vacuum bottle needle into it. Pushing the red topped tube onto the device, allowing my blood to spill into it. As soon as the vacuum stopped, he released the tourniquet before pulling the needle out. I automatically used gauze to stop the bleeding before I bent my arm and stood, walking to my husband who looked the same.

"My tough girl." He smiled.

"The toughest." I smiled back, winking.

"You okay?" He asked gently as I leaned against his chest, his good arm moving around my waist.

"For now." I told him gently. My stomach growled, feeling it, Chris started to gently trail his fingers back and forth across it. Smiling at him, I kissed him sweetly before relaxing against him, relishing his touch.

Andrea was the last to go. She wasn't the same since Amy had died. I couldn't blame her. I had been her not too long ago. Only she was handing it better than I had. But it was only a matter of time before it got the best of her. Even the strongest person can't hold it in when it comes to the death of a loved one.

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever." Andrea stated.

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough." Jenner told her. "All done."

She stood up, swaying as a wave of light headedness hit her. I was at her side in a second, Jacqui on her other.

"Are you okay?" Jenner asked her.

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui told him.

There was a look on Jenner's face. It was almost sympathetic. He let us rest for a moment and stop the bleeding from our arms before he led us away to yet another area of the building. Only this room made a smile cross my face. It was a dining area. We all sat down and before I knew it, Jenner was cooking us a fantastic meal. The best meal we'd had in a long time. Then he brought out several bottles of wine and other lovely drinks.

"Okay, now I like it here." I told Chris softly as the others talked and laughed.

"That's the wine talking." He said and kissed me. The taste of the wine still on his lips.

"I love wine." I smiled at him.

"And I know what it does to you." He whispered in my ear. Laughing, I kissed him again before finishing my current glass.

"Here." Dale said as he started to refill everyone's wineglasses. He was going to pour some for Carl when Lori covered his cup with her hand. "Fine. You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France."

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori told him. Everyone laughed and watched.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on." Rick told her as Dale laughed. "What?" He smiled and laughed with his wife. A moment later she shrugged and moved her hand, letting Dale pour some wine in the young boy's glass.

"There you are, young lad." Dale said handing him the glass.

Carl eagerly took the glass of wine took a sip as his father chuckles at him. "Eww." Carl said making a disgusted face.

The rest of us erupted with laughter. "That's my boy. That's my boy. Good boy." Lori said rubbing his back.

"Yuck." Carl frowned as his mother emptied his glass into hers. "That tastes nasty."

We all couldn't help but laugh at the boy. It couldn't have been more normal. It was as if we were sitting at a typical dinner table. It was blissful.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl told our friend as he looked at a bottle of wine.

"What?" He grinned.

"Keep drinking, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl told him.

"I'm with him there." I grinned at him.

"I don't know." Glenn said looking at the bottle in his hands.

"Drink." I said looking at him, tipping the bottle closer to his lips. "It'll make you happy."

"Will it?" He asked mockingly.

"Come on." I told him. "I'll even race you." I said excitedly.

"No, you won't." Chris said putting his arm across the back of my chair. "I do not want my wife plastered tonight. I want her perfectly happy."

"I get it." Glenn said as he winked at my husband.

"Christian." I said and elbowed him lightly.

"It's only the truth." He whispered in my ear before gently nibbling my earlobe.

"Chris!" I giggled and gently shoved him away. Then Rick was clinking his glass and we all looked at him.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly." Rick told us as he stood.

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog told us.

"Hear, hear!" Dale said raising his glass.

"Here's to you, doc. Booyah!" Daryl said holding up the bottle he was happily emptying.

Soon we were all thanking him with raised glasses. We were safe. Safe and sound and well fed and happily getting more and more intoxicated every minute. Jenner smiled but seemed detached to everything that was going on. He didn't seem at all excited to not be alone anymore. There was something he wasn't telling us. But I wasn't going to let that hinder the feeling of tonight. I wasn't going to let anything take away from what I was feeling now. Looking at Chris, I could only smile, only ensuring that I would keep my feelings about Jenner to myself. Tonight would be about Christian. I would make sure my husband would have a night to remember in all of this hell. We were safe. We were safe and tonight I would love my husband like nothing ever happened to the world.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the—the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" Shane asked, ruining my happy thoughts.

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now." Rick told his friend.

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right?" He asked not backing down. "This was your move—supposed to find all the answers. Instead we –" He paused chuckling. "We found him. Found one man. Why?"

"Shane…" I said shaking my head at him. Though we all wanted to know.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families." He told us. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got the overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They…opted out." He said and we all looked at each other. A sense of depression passing through the group. "There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked.

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." Jenner told her.

Glenn stood, walking behind us before looking at Shane. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man."

The mood had officially been ruined. Talk died and soon even the leftover food on the table couldn't entice the happy mood to return. Soon Jenner stood and told us that he'd lead us to where we'd be staying.

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here." He told us as we walked. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage it you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." He said bending down to look the kids in their eyes. "Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." He told them, both nodding their understanding. "The same applies – if you shower? Go easy on the hot water." He told us as he walked away.

Glenn turned and smiled at everyone. "Hot water?"

T-Dog was brimming with excitement as he grinned at his friend, "That's what the man said."

"Hot water." I whispered looking up at Chris.

"Hot water." He whispered back before pulling me into a hard kiss. "Let's find a room."

Laughing, taking his hand in mine, we rushed passed Rick and Lori, taking the office next to theirs. It was decent sized with a decent sized couch. Christian slammed the door, throwing our things in the corner before pushing me down onto the couch. His lips met mine and I couldn't help but giggle as my hands moved to touch every part of his body. Then a whimper caught our ears and we both looked at Echo, her perked ears, innocent face staring at us.

"I can't while she's watching us like that." I told him before a fit of laughter took me over. In the next second Chris was off of me and shoving the poor dog out the door. "That was mean." I told him.

"She'll just go find the kids or Dale. She'll be fine." He grinned as his mouth invaded mine.

It was hard to argue with him when his kiss took my breath away, his touch leaving goosebumps wherever his fingers fell. Soon, the beating of my heart, and my body telling me what I wanted, let all thoughts except for Christian disappear. Our tongues danced as we wrapped our arms around each other. Gripping his hair, I kissed him deeply as he gripped my hips tightly in his hands. In the next moment he undid my pants, slowly pushing them past my hips. I let him take care of his own as well as my hands trailed up and down his chest. Soon I felt him harden as his quivering member brushed back and forth against the inside of my thigh. He grinned, teasing me not only with his erection but with his lips as he gently brushed them against mine without giving me the pleasure I was eagerly waiting for. When I was tired of his play, I arched against him, wrapping my arms around his torso, pulling him down on top of me, kissing him passionately. Nipping at his lip, he move inside of me, our bodies heated as he rocked against me. Happy moans filled the room as we reached the climax, dizziness taking me over as pure, undiluted pleasure moved through me. Holding him against me, his head resting against my chest, both of us breathing hard.

"That. Was. Amazing." He breathed against me.

"I think that was better than ever before." I smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I don't know." He smiled, lifting his head so he could look at me. Gently running his hand down my hair, he leaned up to kiss me. "I remember a few nights that were just as good as this one."

"Maybe a few." I smiled and kissed him again.

We laid there for a few minutes before we noticed the movement outside the room. Smiling at Chris, we both stood, straightening our clothes out, we opened the door to see several happy, well showered people.

"I think it's our turn." I smiled at Chris, playfully gripping his shirt as we made our way to the showers.

Passing Daryl, I snatched the bottle of liquor from his hand, grinning at him as I took a long drag off of the bottle as I met his eyes. Chris took the bottle and did the same as we disappeared around the corner. There was a line of showers, nearly all of them empty after the survivors had their fill. We quickly undressed, drinking off the bottle all the while, turning on the water. As soon as it started to warm, I couldn't help the grin on my face. Steam started to radiate in the small space. Kissing Christian deeply, I gently moved him back until the hot water touched him. For a moment I looked at his face, the almost euphoric expression that the hot water brought. As soon as it touched me, I closed my eyes, lifting my head as it ran down my body. Then Chris's lips were against my neck. The fire had yet to smolder and we were once again ravishing each other. Eager to feel his skin against mine. The water only increasing my desire for him. Leaning into him, we kissed passionately before he lifted me, bracing me against the wall, the water still pouring over us. Our breathing was erratic as we made love once again, unable to quench the need we had for each other. Every kiss. Every touch. It felt like it would never be enough. I'd had this man all to myself for eleven years. For eleven years I've love him. He was the center of my existence. Every experience I had started with him. There had only ever been him. Some might have called it naïve. That I had missed out. But there was never anything I wanted more then I wanted Chris. It was always him and it would always be him. Most wouldn't believe that two people could be so much in love. To be together this long and still have the fire from the beginning. But we did and we were happy. Happier then we could ever be. The world had changed but the one thing that never would was the feelings we had for each other. Moments like this only confirmed that. I cherished these moments. Knowing that even if they were few and far between, we'd last for all time.

"I love you." I told Chris as we were once again on the couch in our office home.

Lying on top of him, I gently ran my fingers down his face. He smiled and kissed me. Running his fingers through my hair, looking at me with a gentle smile on his face. "Thank you." He told me softly.

"For what?" I smiled, resting my chin on my folded hands across his bare chest.

"For not being dead." He said with a smirk.

"Same goes for you." I said gently rubbing his chest.

"When I thought you were gone, I thought I'd never experience this again."

"Experience what exactly?" I asked slightly squinting my eyes.

"Happiness." He smiled and kissed me.

Smiling back, I simply kissed him again. "Me too. And I am _blissfully_ happy."

"Me too." He said and kissed me deeply. "I love you. Love is too small a word for how I feel about you."

"Dido, baby." I replied softly, my lips still against his, before I got up.

"Where are you going?" He frowned as he sat up.

"I…am going to go find us two cots." I told him as I pulled on clothes.

"Stop getting dressed." He pleaded. "I like my wife naked. Happy and naked."

"We're half way there." I smiled, kissing him before pulling on my pajama pants and a tank top.

"Don't go." He said taking my hand.

"I'll be right back." I smiled before going to the door. "Please, stay just as you are."

He just smiled back, keeping my eyes as I slipped out of the room. It didn't take long to find where the cots were being stored. As uncoordinated as I could be, I managed to get the first one out and back to the room in little time. The second must have hated me as I struggled to get it out of the room and managed to trip over it multiple times before I finally placing it next to the first. I stood outside, panting from the effort, when raised voices drifted from the rec room at the end of the hall. Frowning, I stepped toward it, trying to place the voices. I was only half way there when I recognized Shane's voice and then a panicked Lori. Rushing to the room, I burst through the door to see Shane pushing himself onto Lori. But she defended herself, scratching his neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said shoving him away from her.

"I…I didn't mean to…" He stammered.

"Get the fuck out of here." I said getting in his face. He simply looked at me before leaving the room. Turning to Lori, I took her face in my hands. "Are you okay?" There were no words as the tears ran down her cheeks, her face holding a terrified expression. Quickly putting my arms around her, I attempted to comfort her. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

It seemed like forever when I finally let myself back into the room, lugging the cots through the door with me. Chris was standing, his shirt half buttoned up. As soon as he saw me a look of relief crossed his face.

"I was just about to come look for you." He said taking the cots from me. "What happened?"

"Shane tried to rape Lori." I told him.

"What?" He frowned.

"I don't think that was really his intention. He was drunk but he tried pushing himself onto her. She was fighting against him when I heard them, rushing into the room."

"He didn't try to hurt you did he?" He asked, putting his hand on my face.

"No." I said putting my hands on his chest. "Lori's pretty shaken up but she's back in her room. She'll be okay."

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, it just sucks." I told him.

"At least –"

"Don't finish that sentence." I quickly interrupted.

"I wasn't going to say anything bad. I was just going to point out that Conner –" He tried again.

"Conner is not Shane. We will not have a problem like this. It will never happen."

"I know." He nodded.

"Good." I nodded back. "Besides, I can take care of myself. Conner knows that I could take him if I had to."

"It's crazy how similar we are to Rick and Lori." He said running his fingers through his hair.

"Christian, don't ruin this." I told him softly. "We've had such a fantastic night. Please, let's not talk about this now."

"Not talking about it leads to no good." He replied.

"True." I agreed. "But, I want to embrace tonight as a night of normalcy. A night that we can cherish and remember when things go south again." Stepping up to him, I took his head in my hands. "I just want to think about you. Tonight has been too perfect to let anything or anyone get in the way."

Nodding, he took my hands in his. "Okay." He said gently.

"Thank you."

He kissed me before helping me set up the cots. Placing them as close together as I could, I put a layer of blankets across them before laying down on one of them. Chris laid on the other, both of us on our sides, facing each other. Words seemed to be getting in the way now, so instead of speaking, we simply looked at each other. He had his hand on my face, his thumb gently moving back and forth across my cheekbone. Resting my hand on his chest, I felt his strong heartbeat beneath my hand. Smiling, I leaned forward and kissed him. Now that we were lying still I realized how tired I was. Soon my eyes grew heavy and before I knew it I was drifting asleep. Chris's lips against mine, the last thing I remember.


End file.
